Golden Prayers
by Back2backAgain
Summary: The Fifth Holy Grail War has triggered an Apocrypha. Emiya Shirou is drawn into a war between two sides of seven servants each, where paths cross and newfound revelations change his life forever. The Blue Faction seeks to save the world, the Red Faction seeks the fulfillment of their dreams, and Hakuno Kishinami simply struggles to survive as he summons the rare 15th Servant.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

Shirou Emiya was having a very bad day. One of his worst actually, if he was being honest with himself. Being seemingly killed and then resurrected would have been enough alone to qualify for the worst day of his life, but then he'd been attacked again, only to be saved and drawn into a secret war between magi. So, in all, a very bad day.

He studied the back of Rin Tohsaka's head as she lead him up the steps to Ryuudou Temple. It was hard to imagine this side to her after only knowing the facade she put up at school at every day. Knowing that she was a magus, a part of his father's world, made him slightly wary of her, despite her beautiful appearance. But also a little jealous, if he was being honest. He'd had to beg Kiritsugu for even the smallest scraps of knowledge, and years later he still hadn't even mastered a single thing he'd been taught. But here was an accomplished mage, who had access to an untold number of spells. As if she'd need them though.

His breath caught in his throat as he thought of Rin's Servant. Though he had only seen him fight once, he terrified him. This entire Grail War terrified him, and he had absolutely no idea what he'd been drawn into. Even though Rin had given him a brief explanation on the way here, he was still in way over his head. He couldn't stop himself from shuddering in fear as he tried to process the past few hours.

A gentle hand on his shoulder and soft voice brought him back to the present, "Shirou? Do your wounds still ail you?"

Shirou looked into the concerned eyes of Saber, his Servant. He'd nearly forgotten, he wasn't alone in this. She'd already saved his life once tonight, and he didn't want to burden her anymore than he had to.

He gave her a weak smile, "No, Saber, I'm fine really. Just trying to wrap my head around all this."

"There is no shame in admitting injury, Shirou. Although I do understand that it might be difficult for you to process the concept and implications of the Holy Grail War."

Shirou returned his gaze to the back of Rin's head as they continued up the steps to the temple. He could feel her listening in on their conversation, silently judging him, "I think I get the basics. But I understand why you wouldn't want a newcomer like me on your team."

There was a small silence, and soon the conversation fell apart until the only noise was that of their steady footsteps. He felt Saber pause after a time, and he also froze at the sight of the man with the long katana guarding the gate to the temple. The cold aura around him undeniably marked him as a Servant, and Shirou felt his heartbeat begin to race at the possibility of danger.

Saber began to cautiously place herself between Shirou and the man, but Rin turned around to face them, "Relax. Assassin won't harm anyone on our team. He's only guarding the gate."

"So this is our Seventh Master?" the Servant called out, staring Shirou down.

"Yes," Rin affirmed, "I've started filling him in, but I need to talk to the rest of the Masters."

Assassin nodded and waved his arm as he stood aside, "You may pass, of course. I look forward to fighting alongside you, Servant Saber. You must surely be a master of the blade."

Saber cautiously nodded, "And I as well am honored to fight alongside another Heroic Spirit such as yourself."

Assassin smiled, "Sasaki Kojiro. I'm not really one for all of this secrecy. Should we ever get the chance to duel, maybe you'll drop the secrecy too, eh?"

Saber nodded once more, and followed Rin inside. Shirou walked hesitantly past Assassin and into the Temple's courtyard.

"Where are Issei and all the monks?" He questioned Rin as she paused outside the door to the lodge.

"Relocated," she answered briefly, and then turned to the invisible Servant beside her, "Archer, watch out for the enemy with Assassin while we're inside."

The Servant immediately materialized, and Shirou forced himself not to flinch as his cold gaze swept over him and Saber before he jumped to the roof of the building silently. Shirou stared after him for a moment, before Rin motioned him inside. She lead them into a small lounge area filled with chairs and couches. As soon as Shirou entered the room, his ears were assaulted with very familiar laughter. He looked around to find Shinji Matou holding his sides while he laughed hysterically.

"Shinji? You're a Master?"

"Oh God," Shinji laughed as he tried to wipe his eyes, "You? You're our Seventh Master? What a joke this is!"

"You know this man, Shinji?" intoned a woman with long purple hair, dressed in flowing robes, who lounged in a chair nearby.

"He goes to our school," Rin spoke as she threw herself down on another chair with a huff, "But he's even more worthless as a Master than Shinji."

"Oh dear," the woman sighed as sipped from her glass of wine, "that is unfortunate. Regardless, you do bring us the Saber class, so I suppose you aren't _completely_ worthless."

Shirou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Right, well, uh, thanks. I'm Shirou Emiya by the way."

As soon as he said his name there was a small grunt and a little girl shot up from where she had been lounging on a couch before, out of view. She hung on the side of the couch, staring at him intently. He saw Saber stiffen immediately beside him. He was shocked too that she must be a Master, at such an age. She narrowed her blood red eyes at him, and he soon began to feel a certain air of curiosity from her, much like that of a cat as it plays with a captured mouse. It made him quite uncomfortable, and he immediately returned his attention to Rin and the others, although he could still feel her gaze boring into him relentlessly.

Rin sighed, "Yes, well if you must know, this is Caster, Master of Assassin."

"Caster?" Shirou turned to her, shocked, "You're a Master and a Servant?"

"Oh yes." She purred as she continued to survey him.

"That is against the rules." Saber said tersely as she narrowed her eyes at Caster.

The servant laughed, giggling into her wine, "Rules were made to be broken, Servant of the Sword."

Saber stiffened angrily, and Rin quickly continued, "Yes, yes, let's try not to fight one another already. And to wrap up introductions, that little brat over there is Illyasviel von Einzbern, Master of Berserker."

Shirou turned to the girl again, who was sure enough, still staring him down. Uncomfortable, he managed an awkward wave, but she only narrowed her eyes even further.

Rin sighed again, "Oh sit down already, you dolt. You're making me uncomfortable, just standing there in the middle of the room."

"Right." Shirou said, and hesitantly made his way to the only remaining chair in the room, the one right next to Illyasviel's couch. The uncomfortable feeling only intensified as he sat down, and the girl scooted closer on her couch as she propped up her head with her hands to stare at him even more intently. He was incredibly grateful when Saber moved to stand behind him protectively, lessening the hostile atmosphere. He settled himself as he looked around, until a thought struck him.

"Wait," he said, "Aren't there supposed to be seven Masters?"

"Six actually," Rin responded, "since Caster counts as one. Then there's the other four of us here. Lancer's Master has never actually shown up here, although we all agreed on this place as our base for the Grail War. His Servant shows up though, so I guess that's all we really need to coordinate a strategy together."

Shirou quietly ran through all the Servant classes Rin had explained to him on their walk from his house to the Temple, and then turned to Shinji, "So you're Rider's Master?"

Shinji grinned at him mockingly as he lounged back in his chair, "At least you can count."

Shirou ignored him and turned back to Rin, "You said this is our base for the Grail War. Does that mean you're expecting me to stay here?"

"Of course," Rin replied, "All the Red Masters are gathered here together, and we have Assassin permanently guarding the only way in, thanks to one of Caster's bounded fields around the Temple."

"It was nothing, really," Caster purred.

"But what about my stuff?" Shirou ventured, really wondering what to do about Sakura and Taiga. The Tiger of Fuyuki certainly wouldn't be happy to hear about this, more so because she was losing free food more than her ward was staying with a bunch of strangers for a secret war.

"We can go back for them tomorrow. There's a truce during the day, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Shirou nodded slowly, "Ah. Ok. You said the Red Masters?"

Rin held out her hand, emblazoned with her Command Seals, "Look at your hand. Our Command Seals are red, theirs are blue. It's an easy way to tell the teams apart. The Servant that attacked you tonight was the enemy's Lancer, not ours."

Illyasviel broke off her gaze from Shirou for the first time and addressed Rin, "You encountered an enemy Servant?"

"Yes, I'll tell you all about once we've filled Emiya in. For now just let me finish."

Shirou resisted the urge to look over as he felt Illyasviel's gaze on him once again, and instead faced Rin, "And the enemy? They also have seven Servants and Masters of their own?"

"Of course," Shinji scoffed, "It wouldn't be an Apocrypha otherwise."

"In an Apocrypha," Rin lectured, "a total of fifteen Servants are summoned. In order to obtain the Grail, we have to completely eliminate the other side before the remaining Servants of the winning team turn on each other in the second phase of the War."

Shirou blinked, "So I'm going to have to fight you all at some point?"

Shinji laughed again, "Assuming you make it that far."

"The enemy is very strong," Rin explained, "They're a coalition put together by the Ainsworth and Harway families sent to obtain the Grail. They've always been rivals of the Three Founding Families, and they've always been excluded from the Grail Wars before. But for some reason, the Grail triggered an Apocrypha this time, and they've been allowed to summon all of their Servants despite our efforts. And now that you've summoned Saber and completed our team, they won't be holding back anymore."

Shirou placed a hand over where he'd been impaled. Though he'd changed the shirt, he could still imagine the crusted blood, "Earlier tonight was holding back?"

"Oh yes." Caster smiled, "While I've had limited success viewing them from afar, I can confirm they're all very strong."

"We've also been sending Lancer and Rider out on scouting missions," Rin added, "But they were only ever able to engage their Lancer before their Archer drove them off. Tonight was probably the first real battle of this Holy Grail War."

Shirou shifted uneasily in his chair, and then voiced another question that had been bothering him, "You said fifteen Servants were summoned? By my count we're missing one."

Rin sighed and raised a hand to her forehead, "Yes. You're right. But this is where it gets complicated…"

* * *

><p>Luviagelita Edefelt walked down the streets of Fuyuki uneasily. Night was a dangerous time in Fuyuki, and she again cursed her flight for being late. She'd meant to arrive at noon and rendezvous with the Harways during the day, but she was now at risk of being attacked with only a single Servant to defend her. She walked swiftly down the sidewalk, convincing herself it was only because it wasn't proper for a lady to arrive late, and that it had nothing to do with the chill that ran down her back. She wished that perhaps there were a few other night owls out here with her, but it seemed that the city had largely gone to sleep, leaving her alone. Regardless, she allowed herself a sigh of relief when she reached the park and the other two Masters came into view.<p>

A tall young man in a school uniform with wavy blond hair and emerald eyes smiled at her, causing quite an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She'd always been admired by members of the opposite sex, but she'd never really partaken in such activities, devoting herself to the studies of the Edefelt family. But she couldn't deny as he knelt down and took her hand to kiss it lightly that she was attracted to him in a way, perhaps not because of his looks but because of a simple charisma that emanated from him.

He rose, gracing her with his smile once again, "Welcome, fellow Master. We have been waiting for you. I'm terribly sorry to be so rude, but might we see proof of your status?"

"Of course." Luvia replied, holding out her right hand to allow them to see the blue Command Seals inscribed upon its back.

The man smiled warmly as he showed her his own Command Seals, "Excellent. I take it you must be the Master of Rider, then?"

"Oh yes." Luvia smiled, struggling not to smirk. She was incredibly pleased with herself for not only summoning such a strong Servant, but also managing to summon him with the Dual Summon aspect of an Archer as well. She'd debated over informing her teammates of this development, but had decided against it, instead opting to use it as her ace once they entered the second phase of the War. Much better for now to let them think he was a simple Rider, albeit a rare and difficult one to control with his Independent Action skill.

"I am honored to fight alongside such a renowned and skilled beauty such as yourself, Miss Edefelt," the man continued, "I am Leonardo B. Harway, Master of Saber."

"A pleasure," Luvia smiled, "Truly, I am the one honored and grateful to fight alongside the Harway and Ainsworth families." She could have sworn she saw his face twitch at the mention of the Ainsworths, and made note that the rumors of conflict between the two families must be true.

Leo's smile returned immediately, however, "Of course. And this man here is my brother, Julius Harway, Master of Archer and Assassin."

Luvia studied the man, who gazed back at her with black eyes. His flowing black hair and dark coat, along with the menacing way he held himself, made her very glad that this man was on her side for the time being. Hopefully, he would be killed off by one of the Red Masters before the War truly started.

Despite being intimidated inside, she offered a smile, "You must be a magnificent magus, to maintain two Servants with so little strain."

He nodded slowly, "Something like that."

Leo gave her a small smile, "Julius's talents lie more in the physical realm than the magical. We've had to employ a small tool for it to happen this way. But no matter. Might I inquire the identity of your Heroic Spirit?"

Luvia considered quietly, glancing at Julius, and Leo seemed to understand. With a wave he turned to him, "Julius, would you please give us space?"

The man nodded and melted away like a shadow into the dead trees of the park, and Leo turned toward her expectantly. She paused, but realized she would have to offer up some information to gain her teammates' trust. She still had her ace concealed, after all.

"He is Lü Bu Fèngxiān, the General of Repetition."

Leo smiled at her thankfully, "Excellent, we can sure make use of such a warrior. I can now assure that all of the Blue Masters, even the Ainsworths, have summoned incredible Heroic Spirits."

"You are confident in our chances of success then?" She questioned him.

"Extremely. We _must_ win. If you would, please, would you accompany me for a moment?"

Luvia nodded and follow him as he led her along the park's trail. Soon the dead trees cleared away, and they emerged onto a wide open field. Luvia grit her teeth distastefully as an overwhelmingly evil aura began to emanate from the ground. Leo looked on sadly beside her, gazing at the moon while he questioned her.

"You know where we are, then?"

"Of course," Luvia replied, "this is the site of the Great Fuyuki Fire."

"Yes," Leo sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as his voice trembled with great sorrow, "The conclusion of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Millions gone, after having perished in unimaginable agony and fire, leaving behind only this desolate wasteland and immeasurable sorrow. All from the result of one evil man's wish. Can you imagine what would happen if such a man were allowed to obtain the Grail? This catastrophe might spread to the very end of the earth. That is why this is a war for no less than to save or destroy the world. And we must save it, Luviagelita Edefelt. Man cannot be trusted with the power of the Grail, so I must take it to wish for Man's salvation."

Luvia studied him silently, slightly moved by his passion. Though she would not abandon her own wish so easily, she would readily admit that it paled in comparison to the blazing hopes of the man beside her.

"And what of the Ainsworths?"

Leo gave a sad smile, "They too desire the salvation of the world, although I fear they are misguided by what they hope mankind will achieve as a result. I hold no such predestinations about our future," He paused, and then opened his eyes and turned to her intently, "The Holy Grail is an omnipotent cup, did you know? It has a will of its own, or so they say. Have you ever wondered why now, after hundreds of years, the Grail has triggered an Apocrypha, and allowed us access?"

When Luvia shook her head slightly, he continued earnestly, "It is because the Grail is pure, Luvia, and it has sensed the purity of our wishes. It is dissatisfied with the wicked Masters of the past war, so it has chosen us as its champions of light. But it cannot truly free it itself from its shackles, and is forced to draw forth Servants for the evil of this world as well. For the first time since the First Holy Grail War, an Apocrypha has been triggered, because this is the first time _we were worthy_."

Luvia was slightly taken aback by his passion as he grabbed her hands, "But how can you be sure?"

He smiled at her warmly, "I know it. It must be true. The Grail is pure, Luvia. And it has chosen you, like a radiant angel, out of everyone in the entire world to be a champion of its light. So, please. Please. Please help me save this world."

Luvia felt her heart begin to race as he leaned in closely, and she found herself caught up in his eyes and the glorious air about him. What was her wish against the salvation of the world? Could he be right? Had she truly been chosen out of everyone by the Grail? She looked down to where he gripped her hands tenderly, and studied the pair of blue Command Seals blazoned there. She had been chosen, hadn't she? There could be no other explanation. She had been chosen to save the world.

"Brother!"

The shout made Luvia jump back with a small squeak, her heart beating erratically. She felt a blush rise to her face at the unladylike action, but Leo simply smiled and turned calmly to Julius, who was striding out to them hurriedly.

"Assassin has informed me of a situation."

"Yes?" Leo frowned, "Did something go wrong with his task?"

"In a way," Julius spoke heavily, and at his next words Luvia felt a thrill of excitement, "He claims to have discovered Ruler's Master."

* * *

><p>Hakuno Kishinami walked down the streets of Fuyuki City, his arms heavy with numerous grocery bags. He grunted as a small pack of bean sprouts fell out and he awkwardly had to bend down to pick it up before he continued walking. Soon after he had left the Shinto shopping district, and the streets become empty, he addressed the empty space beside him.<p>

"You could help you know, instead of just sitting there judging me."

The air shimmered, and the Servant Assassin appeared, walking with his arms crossed. The legendary Heroic Spirit, Li Shuwen, was not his own, but rather his Uncle Julius's. The servant glared at him while Hakuno huffed as he readjusted his load to save another pack of beef from falling out.

"You aren't supposed to be out after dark."

Hakuno scoffed, "I'm not a part of your Holy Grail War."

"You are a valuable asset to my Master, who has tasked me to guard you for the night. You are therefore a part of this War."

"Valuable asset, huh?" Hakuno muttered. Julius Harway was not truly his uncle, only a man who had taken him in after he realized the great potential of Hakuno's Magic Circuits when he found him begging on the streets. He claimed Hakuno had the greatest potential of any mage he'd ever found, but he never actually taught him anything. He only had him pour his prana into various rings and jewels so that Julius could leech off his power, allowing him to achieve incredible magical feats like sustaining two Servants. A part of Hakuno resented the man, but anything was better than the streets. Life had certainly taught him that. He often wished he knew where to find his real family, but he had simply woken up one day beaten and bloodied on a curb, with no memory beside his name. Kishinami wasn't even his real surname, he just hated the reputation that came with the Harway name, a family that controlled nearly all of the Earth's oil. He hated the way they meddled in human lives for the sake of "progress", but he hadn't complained when Julius had told him a month ago that they would be moving to Fuyuki for his Holy Grail War.

He'd initially been excited, and had spent several days researching the Apocrypha system in hopes that he would be allowed to summon his own Servant, but the excitement soon faded after his uncle shot down that ludicrous idea. Three Servants for the Harways, three for the Ainsworths, and one outsider. That was the deal they'd agreed on. There was no room for an extra Harway Master, let alone an untrained mage, and the family only trusted his uncle and Leo enough to control any Servants. So he'd resigned himself to his position as a power battery.

"You're an Assassin servant, right?" Hakuno spoke aloud, "So as long as you're careful, no other Servants should be able to sense you. And as long as I don't pour prana into anything they won't be able to sense I'm a magus."

Assassin chuckled softly as the passed under a flickering streetlight, "I would hardly call you a magus."

Hakuno growled at the insult. It wasn't his fault Julius hadn't ever taught him anything, "Look, you can't just keep me locked up in the house all day. And you have to let me go to the market every now and then. I can't keep living off microwaveable meals. I need real food."

"It's for your protection." Assassin retorted.

Hakuno sighed, and kept walking as Assassin moved along silently beside him, "So how long is this Grail War thing gonna take? Cause we've already been hear a month and the only action happened when Archer drove off their two Red Servants. Are we any closer to finding their base?"

"You are not to be informed of the progress of the Grail War."

Hakuno grunted, "Sheesh, at least throw me a bone, I'm technically the one who's supplying you with all this prana, so the least you could do is give me an update every once and while."

Assassin eyed him narrowly, before grunting, "Red Saber was apparently summoned only a few hours ago, and we have engaged the enemy's Archer. The war should now begin in earnest."

"Finally," Hakuno muttered, "About time someone got this thing moving."

"I couldn't agree more!" A joyful voice cried out, and Hakuno gasped as Assassin shoved him forward, sending the bags flying as he skidded several feet.

"What the hell!" Hakuno growled, sitting up only to freeze before he caught sight of the situation before him. Assassin stood ready before an Irish man in a blue jumpsuit with a wicked red spear, who Hakuno could only assume was the enemy's Lancer. The Servant gave him a malicious grin as he perched atop the wall from where he had tried to strike at Hakuno before, even going so far as to tilt his head with a wink before jumping down to face off against Assassin.

"That's just what I was thinking, kid," Lancer smiled, "So imagine my joy when Caster informed me that she detected a Servant in my area, only for me to find a Master and Servant stupid enough to be walking out in the open. Must be my lucky day."

Assassin growled as he shifted his stance, "The boy is not my Master."

Lancer grunted, "Whatever, Blue. I guess I'll just have to kill him for being a witness anyway. Either way, I've been itching for a good fight. What Servant class are you? You don't seem to have any weapons. Don't tell me you're a puny Assassin or Caster or something."

When Assassin said nothing, Lancer groaned, "Ah, come on! I was really hoping to actually get some action tonight. Ah well. I guess I might as well get this over with."

As soon as the words left his mouth and before Hakuno could even blink, the Servant darted forward, extending his lance to spear Assassin right through. There was a loud thunderclap, and Hakuno stared wide-eyed as Assassin caught the flat of the spear between his hands, halting it only inches from his chest. Lancer grinned and jabbed it backwards, putting distance again between him and his opponent.

He gave a feral smile and tilted his head in amusement, "Oh? Maybe I'll actually get some fun tonight?"

Assassin smirked back as he readied himself once again, "You are fast, spearman. Perhaps you will be enough to give me a challenge."

Lancer let out a bout of loud laughter, "All right! This is what I'm talking about! I like you, bud! Let's kill each other!"

With his final cry, he darted forward again, Assassin twisting his body to avoid the blade. When Lancer twisted the spear to swipe through Assassin's midsection, the Servant simply dropped to the ground and somersaulted himself away out of the spearman's reach. Lancer pursued him with a wide grin, chasing him as they continued their deadly dance. Assassin seemed to always just manage to avoid the spear, but instead of growing infuriated, Lancer only seemed to be having even more fun. But at Lancer's next thrust, Assassin instead darted forward, putting himself too far inside Lancer's reach for his spear to be of any use. He planted his feet firmly and pushed forward a fist glowing with emerald fire, and Lancer only just managed to swing around the back end of the shaft as he backpedaled to block it, although the blow still sent him sliding several feet.

He glanced down at his spear to ensure it wasn't harmed before pushing back at Assassin again, albeit more carefully this time. Hakuno was captivated by their pattern as he watched them duel, eyes wide as he observed the exchange of blows. This was what he had wanted. He had dreamed of participating in the Holy Grail War, of fighting like this with a Servant by his side, struggling to attain his most fervent dream. If only there had been a Servant for him to summon. He slowly struggled to his feet, never taking his eyes off the glorious battle before him, and therefore never noticing the blood dribbling down his right hand.

Assassin attempted to get past Lancer's guard each exchange, but after the first time, Lancer was being much more cautious with each of his attacks, ensuring that even if he did leave an opening, it was one he could easily escape from. It was a surprise then, when for the first time Assassin jumped back instead of darting forward. Lancer prepared to follow after him, but Assassin quickly knelt and pounded his fists together in a flash of green fire, disappearing from sight. When the smoke cleared, revealing only Lancer, he tightened his guard and looked around cautiously. Eyes flickering back in forth, he felt the lightest of breezes from his left, and barely managed to raise his spear in time to partially deflect the blow, diverting it from his heart to his ribs. He grinned wildly as he felt the nerves and bones inside pulverize, before he was sent flying into the street wall, cracking it with the force of his landing. He rose unsteadily before popping his neck and grinning even wider, his eyes lighting up.

"Now that's a cool trick," he bellowed to the empty air, "And invisibility! I want that! That blow probably would have put any other Servant out of action for a pretty long time, put unluckily for you, I love a fight too much to ever just sit down after a single wound."

He eyed the air as he moved forward, expertly swinging his spear in a defensive circle around himself as he moved into the middle of the empty street, "Now let's see how lucky I'm feeling today."

He closed his eyes, letting his instincts take control as kept up his defensive barrier. He felt the lightest of breezes towards the front, a feint, before he spun and swung his spear behind him viciously as he backed away. He heard a low hiss, and he smiled to himself.

"Gotcha that time," When another minute had passed with no second blow, he shrugged, "All right. If you don't want to play, I know how to draw you out."

Hakuno gasped as Lancer suddenly sprung forward, darting right towards him with his spear extended. He flinched and closed his eyes, his thoughts processing at a million times a minute. He didn't want to die. There was so much he wanted to do, so many questions he wanted answered. And most of all, he wanted the chance to change the world for the better, a chance he would never get if Lancer's blow struck home.

He heard a grunt as Assassin tackled Lancer in mid-air, revealing himself once again, before the two continued their duel. But Hakuno wasn't watching them anymore. His eyes were focused solely on his hands in front of him, set out to prop him up when he fell to his knees in shock of still being alive. Shaking, he lifted his right hand out before him. Dripping with blood, the golden symbols of Command Seals were blazoned against the back of his palm. _He was a Master_.

The thought kept running through his head as he slowly stood up in a trance, but he wasn't sure if his knees were shaking from remnants of fear or his newfound excitement. _He was a Master_. His Command Seals were gold, neither red or blue, so he could only assume he was destined to summon the only remaining Servant: Ruler. And that, he realized suddenly with a chill of fear, planted a very, very, very large target on his back.

Lancer grinned wildly as he swung his spear once more at his now visible opponent. Assassin jumped to the right, and Lancer's eyes fell on the young boy in front of him before he froze.

"Hold up," he intoned to Assassin, who paused quizzically as Lancer held up a hand in front of his face.

"Oi, Kid!" Lancer called out, causing Hakuno to look up shakily.

Lancer sighed as he made out the golden Command Seals on the boy's hand, "Ah, shit. Now I gotta cut off your arm before I kill you so I can give those Command Seals to my Master. I mean, you were dead anyway, but now it's gotta be painful."

Assassin froze as he too recognized the Command Seals on Hakuno's hand, "Not if I kill him first." He growled, darting towards Hakuno.

"Oh, no you don't!" Lancer roared as he too darted forward, just managing to tackle Assassin out of the way with his superior speed, "Whoever controls those Command Seals will control the War!"

Assassin growled, and delivered a vicious elbow to Lancer's face, causing his nose to gush blood, as the two Servants battled each other to both be the first to reach Hakuno and keep the other away from him, "And that is why I must obtain them for my Master!"

"Fat chance," Lancer yelled, "Those are gonna be mine!"

Hakuno stumbled backward, now realizing that he was in a very dangerous situation where two Servants were trying to kill him. Assassin would no longer protect him, but instead kill him to bring Ruler's Command Seals to Julius. He immediately turned and began to run back to the house, leaving the noise of the two Servants battling behind. Soon his lungs began to gasp for breath and his legs ached every time he pounded them against the unforgiving pavement. While he was fit, he couldn't help but curse the grocery store for being so far away from home. The sounds of battle followed him as the Servants drew closer. Hakuno risked looking back over his shoulder and yelped as he saw Lancer lunging for him. He threw himself to the side, but he couldn't completely evade the blow as the tip of the spear sliced a thin line along his left shoulder, releasing a fountain of blood. Lancer turned and prepared to finish him off, but was instead hauled to the ground by Assassin. Assassin reached for Hakuno but was yanked back by the foot by Lancer, who drew him back to resume their brawl.

Gasping, Hakuno got up and ran, even faster than before. He didn't dare risk and turn around, instead focusing solely on his speed. He could soon no longer hear the sounds of battle as he ran up the steps to the door of his house at last, but he knew they could catch up any second. Assassin knew where he lived, and Lancer was surely following him. Struggling to pull out the key with shaking fingers, he hurriedly let himself inside, not even bothering to lock the door again. A wooden door wouldn't do anything against two Heroic Spirits from a bygone age. Shaking, he ran downstairs to the basement of the house, one of Julius's many self-proclaimed workshops he'd never been allowed to enter. If Julius had summoned a Servant here in the house, the summoning circle would be in this room, and would hopefully still remain so he could use it for his own purposes. It had to be here. God knows he didn't have time to draw up an entirely new one.

He pounded against the wooden door, but it was locked as always. Gasping and shaking for breath he looked around wildly for something to beat down the door until he had an idea. He ran back to the top of the stairs, and then turned and launched himself down at the door, busting it open with the force of his weight. His body stung as it hit the cold hard floor of the basement, and he shakily pushed himself up to glance around wildly. He nearly wept with relief as his gaze was immediately drawn to the summoning circle still present in the center of the room. He hurried to his feet and immediately began the verses to the ritual as he held out his hand with the golden Command Seals glowing violently. He'd spent countless hours studying the Grail War in hopes of being chosen as a Master, and the words to the summoning ritual were permanently burned into his mind with the hopes of one day being able to achieve his dream. He spoke them now, hurried but careful not to make a mistake that would require him to restart.

He gasped as he heard the door crash above, as the two Servants entered the house, still brawling. He lost precious seconds in that moment of shock, and he hurriedly continued the incantation, abandoning all caution as he spoke faster and faster with more feeling than ever before as tears of desperation began to leak from his eyes. The circle began to glow with a golden light, but it didn't seem fast enough to Hakuno, as heard the shattering noise of furniture and glass above while the two Servants fought, both looking for him. He heard one of the two above roar, probably Lancer, and then with a final surge of desperation he completed the last verse, praying fervently to God for salvation. A blast of golden light shook the room and Hakuno was thrown back by a shockwave from the circle. Above him, the ceiling buckled and then collapsed, raining down dust and earth onto the floor along with the two struggling Servants.

Lancer was the first to react, and with his superior speed, he lunged for Hakuno. But he was suddenly knocked aside as a beautiful girl raced from the summoning circle in silver armor to shoulder him into the wall, then standing before Hakuno to unsheathe her sword. Lancer growled and darted forward, Assassin just behind him. The girl frowned distastefully and swung her sword, Lancer rearing up his spear to block it but still being thrown back to the opposite end of the room by the force of the blow, where he waited cautiously. Assassin continued to race forward, but the girl with the blonde hair rushed to meet him, forcing him back with her blows. Assassin consumed his fists in green flame, preparing for another strike like before, but Hakuno's Servant's next strike forced him to bring them up protectively, shielding his neck, and he was launched by the force of the blow into the living room above, creating a new hole in the ceiling.

Hakuno's Servant allowed herself a small smile, checking to make sure Lancer was still watching cautiously at the far end of the room before turning to face Hakuno over her shoulder with a warm smile, "God answers every prayer, and I was moved by yours. I am the Servant Ruler. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

**A/N: So first off, and this goes for the entire story, I obviously don't own the Fate franchise. That'd be nice though. Anyways after I really got into this show, I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while, so I finally decided to sit down and try it out. If you're curious about how Shirou got where he was in this first chapter, I was basically too lazy to write out my own version of the prologue, but it was basically the same as Unlimited Blade Works, where Shirou uses a Command Seal to stop Saber from slashing Archer. The only differences are that Lancer was Blue Lancer, and Rin took him to Ryuudou Temple to meet the rest of the Red Masters and explain the war. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this Holy Grail War is similar to the one from Fate/Apocrypha, with each side having seven servants, although I added a twist that will become obvious soon when it comes to Ruler, aside from the fact that she's been summoned by a human master. None of the servants in this story are OC's (except for one who won't show up for a very long time), and the same goes with the Masters. They're all from somewhere, whether it's Fate/Exta/Kaleid Liner/Apocrypha, etc. So you'll be able to look them up if you're really curious about them. The Red Faction is just the normal stay night group, but I'll try to list the Blue Faction as they show up. Anyways, I really have no idea when I'll be posting another chapter. It could be before Monday while I'm still on break, or it could be later. I'm still trying to decide if I want to stick with the long chapters though. Anyway, please leave a review, it's a really great way to motivate me and makes this all worth it. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated too. Until next time.**

**New Characters List**

**Master: Hakuno Kishinami (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Ruler (Joan of Arc) (Fate/Apocrypha character)**

**Blue Faction:**

** Master: Leonardo B. Harway (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Saber (?)**

** Master: Julius Harway (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Assassin (Li Shuwen) (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Archer (?)**

** Master: Luviagelita Edefelt (Fate/Kaleid Liner Character)**

** Servant: Rider (Lü Bu Fèngxiān) (Fate/Extra Berserker)**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Kirei Kotomine was displeased. He clicked his teeth as he gazed down upon the form of the man kneeling grudgingly before him, the Heroic Spirit Cú Chulainn. Even for a man as passive and emotionless as himself, it was hard for him to quell the bile of disgust that churned his stomach as he studied his Servant. Even the thrill of seeing Lancer's grimace of pain from his wounds, that continued to drip blood onto the floor of his church, couldn't pacify him. He entertained the idea of punishing his Servant further, but he still needed to be able to present Lancer in fit condition as his only Servant to the other Masters. Instead, a stern scolding would have to suffice.

"You do understand the depth of your failure, don't you Lancer?" He intoned, beginning to pace the shadowed pews of his Church, clenching his fists behind his back.

Lancer grimaced, "I do, Master."

Kirei felt his black heart begin to beat even faster as he struggled to quell his anger and murderous urges. Lancer was a usefull tool, after all, "I ordered you with a Command Seal to scout every Servant in this war, so that you might bring me Ruler's Command Seals once you found her."

"I did, Master," Lancer growled, "I found the boy."

Kirei tilted his head back to gaze at the flickering candles. As overseer of the Holy Grail War, he had of course sensed the Command Seals appearing, and Ruler's subsequent summoning. Lancer had been right there, and _he had allowed her to be summoned_.

"Am I truly to believe that the Hound of Chulainn is so inept?"

Lancer stiffened at the mention of the name and began to tremble, Kirei's earlier use of a Command Seal ordering him to accept him as his Master binding him, "I won't fail again, Master."

Kirei returned his cold gaze to the man, studying him, "No. I don't believe you will. Now go and carry what you have learned about Ruler and Assassin to the other Masters. We will discuss your future purpose in this War later."

Kirei turned his back, dismissing him, and Lancer vanished into a blue shimmering mist once Kirei generously supplied him with enough prana to heal his wounds. Kirei waited a moment to make sure he was truly gone, before addressing the pews of the congregation.

"Did you hear all of that, King of Heroes?"

The air in the front-most pew shimmered in a glorious shower of gold as Kirei's True Servant, Gilgamesh, entered the physical realm. He lounged arrogantly, although his red eyes, as ever, held a certain boredom that only occasionally captured a spark of interest. He gazed upon Kirei uninterestedly, and waved a hand.

"A king cannot help but hear every whisper in his kingdom, even that of a poor master speaking to his dog."

Kirei brushed off the words, long since growing used to Gilgamesh's mannerisms, understanding the insult was not aimed at him, "You know of Ruler's summoning then?"

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, "Yes, I sensed she entered my garden with the permission of another. Even I marvel at her audacity, to claim the title of ruler, that which belongs only to the true king. Such a slight must be reproached."

Kirei raised an eyebrow, "You mean to reveal yourself so soon?"

"None may desecrate this world with their footsteps without my permission. That mongrel will learn her place."

"Wouldn't she sense you if you approached? The First Holy Grail War left behind records that suggest that the Ruler class has special abilities."

"All mongrels should sense the presence of their king as he approaches, so that they might prepare. This one however, is blind to me. You need not worry yourself, Kirei."

Kirei pressed on, "But would it not be wiser for you to remain hidden, for a time, until the War has neared its conclusion?"

Gilgamesh gazed at Kirei with an air of suspicion, "Do you fear for me, Kirei, or for those who must endure my wrath?"

Kirei solemnly placed a hand over his artificial black heart that connected them, "Noble King of Heroes, I only wish for the chance of these summoned Heroic Spirits to provide you with a medium of entertainment before you end their dreams."

Gilgamesh gazed at him silently for a time, and Kirei bowed his head and averted his eyes until he spoke, "Perhaps. I may yet wait to see if any of these mongrels shall prove as interesting as you have, Kirei."

Kirei bowed his head deeply, "My thanks, King of Heroes."

Gilgamesh turned to leave, pausing to gaze at Kirei once more before he vanished in a shower of gold, "Be warned, Kirei. My favor to you will not last forever. Soon I will collect my precious Saber, for whom I have waited patiently. She will be mine."

Kirei nodded once more, and Gilgamesh vanished in a shower of gold. He examined Lancer's puddle of blood on the floor intently for several moments, and allowed himself a small smile at the death and pain to come.

* * *

><p>Hakuno stared at Ruler as she treated the wound in his shoulder, dumbstruck. He was alive, despite the craziness of the past hour. He would be overflowing with joy at having summoned a Servant, no less the Ruler class, if he weren't dead from the physical and emotional exhaustion that assailed him. He shifted nervously as her delicate fingers brushed over the gash in his side, her amethyst eyes narrowed in concentration. It was hard to believe that those same gentle hands had only just wielded a brilliant sword. He kept feeling like pinching himself, there were so many butterflies in his stomach. He was in the presence of his own Heroic Spirit. He was so nervous he was surprised he wasn't shaking. It didn't help that she was absolutely breathtaking either.<p>

She finished wrapping his arm, and then sat back to grace him with a warm satisfied smile, "There, all done."

Hakuno moved his arm experimentally, "Wow, thanks. Where'd you learn to do something like that?"

Ruler rose as she surveyed the destroyed room around them, the result of her battle with Lancer, "In my time, soldiers often had to know how to treat themselves on the battlefield."

Hakuno stood, gazing at her as well. Only minutes ago she had driven off both Lancer and Assassin, the latter fleeing after her very first attack. Lancer had persisted for much longer, but Ruler had eventually warded him away from Hakuno until he too, finally gave up and fled. Hakuno studied her, wondering what Heroic Spirit she was. She looked to be his age, around seventeen or so. Her blond hair likely made her European, as he knew of very few American Heroic Spirits. Unable to quell his curiosity, he cautiously asked her.

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but who are you really?"

Ruler gave a sad smile and gazed at the wreckage around them, prompting Hakuno to throw up his hands in apology, "I'm sorry! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. We only just met, after all."

Ruler turned to him with her sad smile, "No, it's fine, Master. I don't mind. I am Jeanne d'Arc, your Servant."

Hakuno paused, amazed, "Wow. That's incredible."

She nodded her head shyly, "Truly, I was surprised to have been chosen as a Heroic Spirit. I never thought my actions to serve God would be lauded so widely. You should still refer to me as Ruler though, Master. It wouldn't be wise to reveal my identity to the enemy."

Hakuno nodded earnestly and extended his right hand, the gold Command Seals glowing softly, "Right. I'm really looking forward to working with you, Ruler."

She smiled and took his hand in hers, "I as well. I'm thankful to have been summoned by such a kind and pure Master."

Hakuno blushed, though he was still marveling how her small and delicate hands had wielded such a weapon earlier, "Ri-right. So! I guess we should talk strategy, huh?"

Ruler nodded, surveying the broken rooms around them, "Indeed, though I would advise that we leave this place. It is known by the enemy, and I don't wish to involve any of the citizens that sleep nearby."

Hakuno grimaced, "Yeah, Julius will probably be coming here soon. And Lancer is sure to tell the rest of the Red Faction where we are. You don't have to worry about people knowing about the war, though. Julius put up a bounded field around the house so that no noise escapes it. They probably didn't hear a thing during your fight."

"That's good. But we still must leave before more enemies come. I doubt I would be able to hold off more than two Servants, maybe three, if the objective is to protect you."

Hakuno rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah, protecting me would be nice."

Ruler nodded resolutely, "Yes. We must begin the summoning of your additional Servants as soon as possible."

Hakuno grunted as he began to throw a bag together, avoiding the wreckage, "Yeah, just let me get my stuff and we can leave. I'm thinking of heading for a-wait, what? Additional Servants?"

Ruler nodded again as she too began to pack a bag, "Yes. As a Servant of the Ruler class, I have been granted 25 Command Seals. Three have already appeared to mark you as my Master, and the remaining 22 may be transferred to you at my leisure, so that you may summon seven additional Servants of the traditional classes."

Hakuno felt his mouth go dry, "So you're telling me I could potentially have eight Servants? So that's what Lancer meant about controlling the war…If either side had obtained these Command Seals, they would have been able to wipe out the enemy without risking their real Servants. Why wasn't there any information about this in the records of the First War? The documents I studied said only that a Ruler Servant would be summoned by a Master to both participate in and protect the War."

"Yes, that is part of our duty as Master and Servant, to uphold the sanctity of this war. I would imagine however, that details of the Ruler class have been limited by the Three Founding Families so that they might use it to their advantage, although others may know of its capabilities as well, judging by how both Servants pursued you. That means that someone within the Blue Faction also knows of this system."

"So you're telling me there's an even larger target on my back than what I thought."

"Yes, both teams likely have eliminating you as one of their highest priorities. All the more reason then that we must summon additional Heroic Spirits to aid in your defense. There is however, a limit within the summons. We must let the system recharge for at least a day before summoning another Servant to ensure there are no complications. I would advise waiting even longer."

Hakuno paused, "Wouldn't maintaining eight Servants at a time be impossible? I'd think the power drain would probably kill the Master."

Ruler glanced over at him reassuringly, "Usually, the system has the Ruler Servant support most of the Servants summoned, meaning that she would get weaker as more and more Servants were summoned to your side. However, you have the most outstanding magic circuits I have ever seen. While you claim to know nothing of actual magecraft, I believe you could sustain four to five Servants, maybe even six counting myself, before you reached your limit and I would have to intervene. Even then, I would only be supporting three Servants, and would likely still be able to fight at your side."

Hakuno rested a hand over his chest wonderingly, "Wow. No wonder Uncle Julius had me storing up so much prana for him. He told me my circuits were good, but I never imagined…Heh. I guess I really am a walking power battery."

Ruler finished packing, and swung her bag over her shoulder as she stood, "We should leave this place. Remaining here any longer is a risk. I trust you know a place where we will be able to lay low until you can summon your second Servant?"

Hakuno scratched his head ponderingly as he stood up beside her, "I don't think they'd attack us if we stayed in a populated place, like a hotel or something. Julius has keeps a bunch of cash in that safe there in case we ever need to split. It should be enough for us to buy a room for a while. Heck, we could probably even get a suite. I don't know the code though…"

"That is not a problem," Ruler informed him, and he was shocked when she strode over and plunged her fist into the steel, crumpling the metal and swinging open the door to empty the multitude of cash into her bag.

"This will suffice." She told him, turning to him with a smile.

Hakuno nodded, dumbstruck, "Yeah. Have I told you yet how lucky I feel having summoned you?"

Ruler's smile widened, "No, although I look forward to hearing you say that many times."

She moved to leave the house, stepping over the crumbled remains of the wall between the kitchen and his room before pausing at the door, turning to face him with a slight blush, "There is one more thing I will require."

Hakuno paused, curious, "What's up?"

Her blush deepening slightly, she nervously looked down at the wrecked floorboards, "I will require modern clothing, so that I might accompany you."

"You can't go into spirit form?"

Her face reddened even more, and she shook her head slightly, "I am sorry, Master. It is a limitation of the Ruler class."

Hakuno laughed lightly, "Hey, look, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's no big deal, really. Besides, after all you've done for me, I think I can stand taking a girl shopping."

* * *

><p>"What?" Shirou called out, shocked, "How can that be fair?" You're telling me a Master out there has eight Servants?"<p>

Rin sighed irritatingly, "Just listen, Emiya, and let me finish before interrupting me. It's not quite as overpowered as it seems."

Shinji laughed, "I'd like to hear you repeat that, Tohsaka. The sight of the school idol lying through her teeth is quite amusing."

"Shut your mouth, Shinji," Rin growled, her face red with fury, before turning back to Shirou, "It's really not, I swear."

"While it is quite formidable," Caster intervened, "the Ruler class does have several limitations. The first and foremost being that their status makes them an extremely large target. I wouldn't be surprised if the Blue Faction offered their help in eliminating them."

"Well that's a bad idea if I ever heard one," Shinji smiled.

"Shut it, worm," Rin growled again.

Caster continued, unabashed, "There are other weaknesses of course. They're vulnerable when they're summoning their Servants, as it takes time for them to gather the energy to do so. You'll find it's much easier to kill them before they've summoned their entire team, obviously. And even when they have, the Ruler class will be little more than an empty husk from the straining of supporting seven Servants. And if you kill Ruler, the power supply supporting the other seven Servants, the other seven will also disappear."

"Or just kill Ruler's Master. That will cause them all to disappear." Shinji added.

"So we just have to kill Ruler then. I don't like the idea of killing Masters," Shirou muttered, "You said only Servants power the Grail, right Tohsaka? We shouldn't have to kill Masters then."

Shinji snorted and began to laugh again, while Caster smirked. Illyasviel looked shocked at his statement, staring at him with even wider eyes, and Rin shook her head sadly as she replied, "You'll be the only one with that ideology, Emiya. Other Masters won't feel the same. A Servant-less Master can still be a threat later in the game if they make a new contract. If you really feel so strongly about that, pray you're the one that takes down each Servant and gets to make that decision over the Master's fate."

Shirou frowned and then voiced another thought, "I still don't think it's right, and I'll continue to fight you all on that. But what's to stop Ruler from just hiding us out?"

"The Ruler class can't enter spirit form," Rin explained, "They're always vulnerable in the physical plane. They can't hide from us."

"Exactly," Caster agreed, taking another sip from her wine, still smirking at Shirou.

"Besides," Rin continued, "There's still time to obtain their Command Seals before they're summoned. It's obviously more beneficial to control Ruler than kill them if we have the chance. If we control Ruler, eliminating the Blue Faction will be easy."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry to burst your bubble there, doll," a new voice interrupted.

Shirou turned to see an Irish man in blue, even with a blue ponytail, smirking at Rin from the doorframe. Judging by the dangerous aura he was emanating, and Saber's reaction from behind him as she registered a possible threat, he had to be a Servant.

"Lancer!" Rin cried, surprised at his appearance, "Did you find the Servant Caster detected? And what do you mean?"

Lancer sighed and strode into the room, "As of tonight, Ruler has been summoned."

"What?" both Caster and Rin shrieked, but Lancer ignored them as he strode over to Shirou.

His eyes passed briefly over Shirou , flickering to Illyasviel staring at him relentlessly and back, before ignoring him completely to study Saber in great detail. Shirou felt her stiffen behind him as Lancer obviously looked her over.

"So this our seventh Servant, huh?" he mused, then suddenly broke into a wide grin, "She's hot."

Shirou stared, shocked, and suddenly felt a murderous killing intent from behind him.

"Lancer!" Rin called out, her face either red from fury or embarrassment, "We don't have time for your attitude! What do you mean Ruler has been summoned?"

Lancer threw up his hands in defense with a smile, "All right, all right, don't get your panties in a twist," he said as he leaned against the wall, as Shinji began laughing and Rin started to quiver with rage, "I checked out the Servant Caster found. I'd say he's probably an Assassin or Rider, although I'd guess the first. He's about on my level, but I could probably take him. He was guarding some kid, who actually turned out to be Ruler's Master."

Caster frowned, "Then you mean to say that Ruler's Master is allied with the Blue Faction?"

Lancer laughed, "Oh no, I don't think so. The Servant was just as surprised when I was when those Command Seals appeared on the boy's arm. He tried to kill him pretty quick right after that, so I doubt the kid is feeling any kind of generosity towards the Blue Faction."

"And you tried to kill him," Rin said furiously, "turning this battle into a three-way war! That's almost the worst possible outcome! Now our opponents have doubled!"

Lancer shrugged, "Better than the Blue Faction gaining control of Ruler. Besides, I'm fine with it this way. This means more fights."

Rin growled, and Caster waved him on, impatient, "Tell us more."

Lancer sighed and raised a hand to his forehead, "Yeah, well, I followed the brat home, but the enemy Servant kept getting in my way. I almost had him at one point, you know. We get inside the kid's house, next thing I know the floor collapses, and then there's a teenaged girl with a silver sword that wants to play baseball with the other guy's ass, so she launches him outta the house. She goes after me, we fight a bit while the kid sits in the back, and then she launches me outta the house too. I wise up and decide not to go after her alone, and then came back here. Ta-da, storytime is over, kids."

Rin sighed as she place her head in her hands, "This is terrible."

"No," Shirou was surprised when Illyasviel finally looked away from him to address Rin with a quiet but firm voice, "This is what we expected."

Caster nodded, "Miss Einzbern is right. We prepared for nothing less than the worst. All we can do at this hour is wait for our next chance to move tomorrow night."

Shinji frowned, "So we're not sending anyone to check out if they're still there?"

Lancer waved a hand nonchalantly, "I already told Archer about it, and he headed over there to check it out. He looked bored, just sitting there with Assassin, so I decided to chat with him for a bit before coming to see you guys," Lancer then turned to Caster seriously, "That samurai is a buzzkill when he's not fighting, you know that? Use a Command Seal to make him lighten up or something."

Caster pursed her lips at him, and Rin gained a murderous look on her face that said she would be having words later with her Servant leaving her unannounced.

Lancer got up and clapped, "So that's it? Meeting adjourned, good job team, and all that?"

"Yes," Rin groaned into her hands.

"Then I'm off," Lancer smiled, and vanished in a plume of blue smoke.

Caster too, vanished into spirit form, and Shinji let out a yawn as he left the room without even saying goodbye. Illyasviel got up from the couch gracefully to leave the room, though she paused at the door to turn and stare down Shirou once more with her blood red eyes. Shirou once again made an awkward wave good-night, but she merely hmphed and left the room with a twirl of her silver hair. Shirou let his hand fall slowly, and turned to Rin, who remained in her chair. Shirou paused, looking over at Saber, who was looking after where Illyasviel had left, before turning to back to her.

"So can I go home now?"

Rin groaned as she sunk even lower into her chair.

* * *

><p>Luvia watched silently through the window as the limo moved past the gate and rolled into the roundabout before the mansion. Across from her, Leo smiled as she took in the massive structure. A servant waited until the car had completely stopped before opening the door to offer her his hand. She graciously took it, thanking him, and stood to observe the property. The mansion was enormous, with several gardens and fountains surrounding it until they reached the gates surrounding the complex.<p>

Leo continued to smile at her as he and Julius exited the car, "My family, along with the Ainsworths, built this place within two weeks. Several Bounded Fields surround the complex, and I think you'll find the accommodations to your liking. We have even prepared several workshops in case you wish to exercise your magecraft.

Luvia followed him into the main hall, taking in the various tapestries and columns that decorated the entrance, "It's very grand. The wealth of the Harway and Ainsworth families is truly impressive."

Leo nodded graciously, and led her up the stairs and down a long hallway, occasionally stopping to describe a particular vase or painting that adorned the walls. He soon paused before a massive wooden oak door, and opened it to reveal an enormous library. Thousands of books adorned wooden shelves that reached to the ceiling, and several armchairs and couches were arranged around a crackling fireplace. Several people looked over as they entered, and Luvia immediately began to assess her fellow Masters.

A young girl with blond hair looked up wide-eyed at her entrance, sitting on a couch near to the fire. Seated protectively next to her was another beautiful woman, also with blond hair, but with dead eyes that convinced Luvia that she was not to be trifled with. She would have assumed that the woman was the Master, not the girl, if not for the blue Command Seals present on the back of the little girl's palm. Luvia was shocked that someone so young had been chosen as a Master. Regardless, she would likely be easily eliminated in the second phase of the War, although the blonde-haired woman apparently protecting her might be a threat. Still, no mere human would ever be able to defeat Rider. Entertaining the girl, a boy with blue hair and eyes was levitating a small cube above his palm. He was obviously a mage of some kind, but she saw no Command Seals.

Two others turned at her entrance. One was a teenaged girl with pink hair who had been staring adoringly at the man beside her before Luvia had entered. She reeked of inexperience, and Luvia paid her no more than a second thought. The man beside her, however, was completely different. He was about her age, with dark hair, but there was a manner to him that seemed incredibly mature. He turned to regard her coldly, closing a book he had been browsing with one hand as he stepped away from the shadows of the bookcases. There was a thunderous air about him, and Luvia felt her breath catch as he radiated an incredible sense of danger, like that of a dam about to break. Her gazed upon her condescendingly, but it didn't seem that he thought he was better than her. He simply acknowledged that he was, as if it were only natural that he should be superior. Luvia resisted the urge to lick her dry lips and steadied herself. This one would be trouble.

"This is Julian Ainsworth, Master of Berserker," Leo introduced her to him with a grand sweep of his arm, "He is our greatest ally in our quest to obtain the Grail."

The man's eyes narrowed slightly as he took Luvia in, and he nodded, "Welcome, Master of Rider."

Luvia struggled not to shake as his gaze upon her intensified, and she bowed her head gracefully, "I am honored to fight alongside you, my Lord."

The little girl on the couch spoke up suddenly in a shrill voice, "Is this the one we brought in to kill that Tohsaka mage?"

"Manners, Erika." Julian chided.

Leo, however, only smiled, "Yes, Erika. Word is that the Edefelts' jewel magecraft surpasses that of the Tohsakas'. She will certainly destroy that vile girl for you."

Erika smiled and clapped her hands together delightedly, and Julian sighed, "You really must excuse my sister. She has yet to learn proper decorum."

"It's fine," Luvia said hastily, "Really, I don't mind."

Erika looked up at her with excited eyes, "Well I'm Erika, Erika Ainsworth," she paused to point at her two companions excitedly, "And this is Angelica, and this is Caster! Onii-chan gave them to me to kill people I don't like!"

Luvia was both shocked by her reply and the revelation of her Servant, and turned to the young boy, "You're a Servant?"

The boy lazily regarded her as he continued to float the cube above his palm, "Surprised?"

"Yes," Luvia frowned.

"Don't worry," Julian interceded, "While Caster may not appear to be strong, I've instructed Erika to implement a certain strategy with Angelica and Caster that I believe will be quite effective. They will be of use on the battlefield, I promise."

"It's true," Leo agreed, as he gracefully lowered himself into an armchair, "Caster's Noble Phantasm is exceptional."

"Enough already," the pink-haired girl spoke up from the first time from where she hovered around Julian, "We have news to share with you, Harway."

Leo nodded, exchanging a glance with Julius and Luvia, "As do we."

Julian interrupted, holding up a finger, "A moment, Beatrice. I believe it is time for my little sister to retire. Angelica, if you would, and then return to me."

Erika groaned as the blonde-haired woman nodded impassively and rose, guiding the pouting girl out of the room. Caster remained behind, settling obediently in the spot his Master had vacated. Once she had left the room, Julian inclined his head to Beatrice, giving her permission to speak.

"Lancer encountered the enemy tonight," the girl began, "The Tohsaka girl in particular. She's summoned a very strong Archer Servant, although he's strange. He fights like a swordsman, and I can't recognize him at all. Before we could finish our fight, Lancer had to kill a bystander."

Leo sighed as he stared into the fire, "Unfortunate. I had hoped to keep this conflict from spilling over to the civilians."

"He didn't die," Beatrice stated bluntly, and Luvia felt her interest pique. An enemy Master such as this was worth investigating.

"Oh?" Leo mouthed, surprised.

"He revived himself somehow. I sent Lancer after him again, but before she could finish the job, the brat summoned a Saber Servant. The Tohsaka girl showed up again too, so I had to have Lancer retreat."

"They didn't follow you back here?" Julius questioned her, and when she shook her head he grunted, "That's good."

"These Archer and Saber Servants," Leo intoned, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together, "Tell us about them."

"Like I said, the Archer's weird. He fights with two swords, and wears some kind of red coat and body armor. I have no idea what land's Heroic Spirit he is. The Saber's a little easier. She has some kind of invisible blade, but I could narrow down her identity a little more. She's European, short with blonde hair, dressed like a knight in blue. She's young too."

The air beside Leo shimmered, and Luvia was surprised to see a beautiful man in silver and white armor appear at his side. He had brilliant blonde hair, and his face shone like the sun. She did not recognize him beyond identifying him as a European knight, and made note of his appearance so that she might research his identity later. He dropped to a knee beseechingly before Beatrice, and spoke earnestly with a heavy passion.

"Please, my Lady, if you would, tell me more of this opponent."

"Saber!" Leo called out, obviously surprised and disgruntled by his appearance.

"Please, my Lady." Saber repeated, ignoring his Master. Beatrice looked uncertainly to Julian and then back to the prone Servant before her. Leo rose from his chair, and commanded Saber to face him.

"Saber. What is the meaning of this? Do you know of this enemy?"

Saber paused, obviously struggling with his words, "No, Master. That is to say-it's just a feeling. I can't be sure."

Leo frowned and dropped back into his armchair, "Rest assured, if you are offset by the identity of this opponent, it shall certainly become clear once you engage them in battle, should this feeling of familiarity remain. I swear to find you a duel with them, so that you might quell this uneasiness in your heart. But if you have nothing else to contribute, I ask that you return to spirit form."

Looking like he wanted to say more but deciding against it, Saber smoothed his features and bowed his head and began to shimmer away in a white mist, "Of course, my Master. My apologies, and my thanks."

Leo sighed, and then turned to face Beatrice, "Is that all then?" When she nodded, he returned to staring at the fire ponderingly, "This War truly has begun in earnest then. Not only has the Red Faction completed the summoning of their Servants, but Ruler has also been summoned as of this night."

To Luvia's surprise neither Julian nor Beatrice showed much reaction, Julian only sighing, "It is unfortunate then, that we were not able to acquire the Command Seals in time. Do we know the identity of Ruler's Master?"

"Indeed," Julius replied, "Hakuno Kishinami, a previous ward of mine I had brought alongside me to Fuyuki. I had tasked Assassin with guarding him before the enemy's Lancer attacked, at which time the boy developed the Command Seals. He summoned Ruler, and she repelled both Servants."

Julian moved to sit down in an armchair of his own, Beatrice hovering after him. Uncomfortable being the only one standing beside Julius who lurked near the doorway, she too sat to listen to Julian's reply.

"That Lancer again? The enemy certainly must certainly be using him as a scout, for us to have encountered him so often. Any further clues to his identity?" When Julius shook his head, Julian continued ponderingly, "The enemy surely now knows of Ruler's summoning as well. There's still a chance to eliminate her early in the game if we can find her quickly. Do we know their last-known location?"

Julius nodded, "Assassin tracked them to one of my safe houses where he's lived for the past month. He returned there after being attacked by Lancer to summon Ruler. There's a chance he's still there."

"Has Assassin recovered from any of his wounds?"

"Enough to be of use, yes." Julius replied.

Julian stood, "Then we should send Lancer, Archer, and Assassin there immediately, on the chance that we might catch them before they can summon any additional Servants."

"Perhaps," Leo began, his eyes flickering to Luvia and then back to Julian, "We should also send Rider, or even better yet, Berserker? This is a Ruler class Servant, after all. We want to be sure she's properly dealt with early in the game."

Julian shook his head threateningly, and the thunderous aura around him intensified, "Berserker does not leave my side."

Leo pursed his lips, but nodded to Julius. Beatrice and Julius immediately closed their eyes to contact their Servants, and Julian moved to the door, where Angelica waited silently, having entered the room without anyone's notice.

He paused, and turned back to everyone there, "All that we can do now is wait to see the fruit of our efforts in the morning. A good night then, and a welcome to our newest Master. Beatrice, to me."

The girl nodded eagerly, and followed him swiftly out of the room. Angelica paused to gaze at Luvia for a moment, and then followed soon after.

"How boring," Caster intoned, Luvia having entirely forgotten about him, before vanishing in a plume of smoke.

Leo paused for a moment, before rising and giving her a smile, "I suppose we should show you to your rooms then."

He called over a servant once they exited the library and then took his leave, bidding her a good night, Julius shadowing him. The servant lead her upstairs once more and down a long hallway before pausing at a door, giving her the key and promising to be there in the morning to guide her and bring her bags from the airport. Luvia sighed as she entered the luxurious room, eyeing the bed longingly, but instead took the time to diligently set up her own bounded fields to ensure her privacy. When she finished, she gratefully drew up a warm bath and lowered herself into the water.

"Rider," she spoke aloud, prompting the Servant to appear at her side in a shower of red. The man was massive, nearly reaching the ceiling. He gazed down at her unflinchingly, and she resisted the urge to tell him to look away. He was only a tool after all, despite his sometimes infuriating personality.

"What do you think of our competition?" she asked him, referring to the second phase of the War.

"I will grind them beneath my boot," he replied contemptuously, "and trample them with my steed."

Luvia sighed, "That is your arrogance talking. Give me an honest assessment as a warrior of each individual, as you would as a general."

Rider growled menacingly, but complied, "The little girl has summoned a little boy for a Servant. They will be no trouble."

Luvia opened one eye to gaze at her Servant, "You don't think Angelica will be any trouble?"

"She is a homunculus, nothing more. She cannot stand against me."

Luvia pondered the information. She had not realized the Ainsworths were skilled enough in alchemy to produce such figures, "And the others?"

"The other girl is blind with adoration for the boy, and can be easily defeated, I am sure. The Ainsworth boy may yet pose some challenge, but his mad dog will not be able to stand against the strategies of Lü Bu Fèngxiān. The other man reeks of death, but he too is human. No Archer can outshoot me, and Assassin is regarded to be the weakest class of all, no?"

"That is true," Luvia mused, "They usually target other Masters rather than engage enemy Servants."

Rider nodded, "Despite the weakness of warriors in this age, I am confident that you would be able to withstand his attacks for a short time, until I can come to your aid once I have disposed of the man's other Servant."

Luvia growled, unable to reproach Rider for the insult hidden in the words he paid her, "And Leo? The Saber class is said to be the strongest. Will you crush him as easily as claim you will be able to with Assassin?"

"The Harway boy?" Rider laughed throatily, "His ideals stink of foolish naivety. I will not allow him to touch my Holy Grail. And what use is a sword against a swarm of arrows? I merely need distance to ensure that pretty little knight becomes a pincushion."

Luvia nodded slowly, somewhat reassured by her Servant's words, although she still had doubts, "We may still yet have to deal with Ruler, although our efforts tonight will hopefully prove successful. And I have little fear for the Servants of the Red Faction. Leo is certain that our strength far outmatches theirs. That is all, Rider. You may retire for the night."

Rider grinned evilly before vanishing from sight, "Of course, Master."

Luvia sighed once he disappeared, and allowed herself to rest at last as she sunk deeper into the waters of her bath. If only they were successful in killing Ruler tonight, and then her plans would go exactly as she needed.

**A/N: First off, sorry for the long author's note. Honestly, I'm surprised I got this chapter out so fast, although I already had some of it written. A huge thanks to everyone who followed or favorited this story, it was really awesome to see such a response after only a day. And even bigger thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys made my day. I can't stress how awesome it is when someone takes the time to leave a thought about your writing, and to those of you who even kept typing for a paragraph or two, thank you. Those kind of reviews are truly awesome. I honestly think that's what motivated me to get this chapter out so fast. Anyways, this kinda ends the setup stage of the story. We'll dig a bit more into some of the characters and their plans next chapter, and then I promise there'll be some action in chapter four. Hopefully all the plotting and confrontations will be enough to keep you guys interested until then. I can guarantee you that Luvia or Caster won't be the team MVP for their respective factions, and that there will be plenty of tension with each side. And we haven't even summoned all of Hakuno's Servants yet, or really introduced Gilgamesh, Kirei, Sakura, or Zouken to the actual conflict yet, although some of them have been teased. I hope no one thinks this version of the Ruler class is too OP, as I tried to explain some of its limitations in this chapter. It definitely won't be easy for Hakuno, as both the Red and Blue Faction have summoned some seriously powerful Servants. Also, on a final note, there's just something really fun writing about arrogant characters like Gilgamesh or Blue Rider. I can't wait for them to meet. So again, thanks to everyone who gave this story their support, and please continue to review!**

**New Character List:**

**Blue Faction:**

**Master: Leonardo B. Harway (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Saber (Sir Gawain of the Round Table) (Fate/Extra character)**

**Master: Julian Ainsworth (Fate/Kaleid Liner character)**

** Servant: Berserker (?)**

**Master: Erika Ainsworth (Fate/Kaleid Liner character)**

** Servant: Caster (?) **

** Protector: Angelica (Fate/Kaleid Liner character)**

**Master: Beatrice Flowerchild (Fate/Kaleid Liner character)**

** Servant: Lancer (?)**


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

Julian Ainsworth stood on the balcony of his mansion, looking at the moon. Beatrice fidgeted beside him, while Angelica waited patiently. He had paid them no heed, instead only gazing out at the sky. The world truly was wonderful. That was why he had to save it from fools like the Harways, or the Red Masters. No one noticed it, but mankind was doomed. Its legend had begun to cycle towards its end, as man's greed had caused war after war and calamity after calamity. His father, Darius, had taught him this. It was only recently, after his father's passing, and after two long years of study and reflection, that he truly understood the depths of mankind's vileness. He realized then, that the only way for man to survive was a miracle. A miracle that would change them all, and send them through the fire. Some would not emerge on the other side, but those who did would follow him as he birthed mankind's new legend. It was his destiny. He was certain of it. To save the world, he must first purge it, like that of a phoenix rising from blackened ashes. And for that, he needed the Grail.

Berserker trembled behind him, and Julian shared in his passion, whispering soothing thoughts to the Servant in his head. Beatrice and Angelica couldn't see the invisible Servant, but they felt the air around Julian intensify, and they warily stepped back, giving him space. His eyes hardened as he reflected upon what had brought him here, to Japan. No one truly understood the potential the Grail held. Darius Ainsworth had known. His family had tried to enter the ritual for years, and now at long last Julian would begin the Ainsworths' destiny. He took a moment to imagine how everyone would react when he finally began his true plan. Out of everyone, only Angelica knew even the smallest step. The Masters of this Holy Grail War, along with the Mage's Association and entire world, would be shocked by the opening act of his legend. He contemplated the effect it would have upon the city here, and he imagined Fuyuki would have to be completely eliminated from maps of the world after it was all over. He remained that way for a time, thinking, until Beatrice closed her eyes as Lancer contacted her, and then moved into Julian's field of view.

"My Lord," she began, excited to address him, "Lancer has the report."

"And?" Julian replied, not bothering to take his gaze away from the sky. He was all too aware of Beatrice's infatuation with him, and would do nothing to fuel it. He would not quell it either, so long as she continued her undying loyalty to him, as was her place as an Ainsworth homunculus.

"They weren't there. There's no lead either, even Archer couldn't pick up a trail. They're gone."

Angelica moved up to stand beside Julian, and he regarded her evenly as she spoke, "It appears that this Hakuno Kishinami is no fool, despite being inexperienced. What did Julius say he was to him?"

"A ward of his," Julian mused, "I suspect he was using him for some purpose, perhaps to help power his second Servant. He will not be pleased to have lost such a tool."

"So long as it doesn't impede our progress against the Red Faction," Angelica nodded, "This may be of use to you, my Lord, in the second phase of the War."

Beatrice nodded eagerly, smashing her fist into her palm, "I'll crush him for you either way, even if he still can power two Servants."

Julian held up a hand, "Let us not be so hasty. It will be good to prepare, but we must first focus on eliminating the Red Faction. While I suspect Harway has already swayed Luviagelita Edefelt to his side, I am not concerned with my chances in the second round. Berserker is more than capable."

He eyed Angelica as well. She would be a useful tool indeed. She merely had to protect Erika in this first round, until he could begin making true use of her. Beatrice was wild, but he could certainly sacrifice her and Lancer to bring down Julius, or at least to damage him.

He smiled to himself as he returned to gaze at the moon, "Do not worry, my precious dolls. The Grail will be mine."

* * *

><p>Shirou Emiya woke up in a strange place that was not his room. Disgruntled and curious, he sat up to look around and met eyes with a blond girl that sat with her hands folded in her lap nearby, watching him intently.<p>

"Gah!" he shrieked, stumbling backwards out of his futon and sheets onto the floor, before he recognized Saber and the events of last night came flooding back to him.

"Shirou," Saber frowned concernedly, "Are you unwell?"

"What, no," Shirou mumbled sheepishly, both embarrassed by his reaction and offset by the presence of a beautiful girl in his room. He had protested strongly against her sleeping in the same room as him when Rin had shown them around last night after the meeting, but Rin had simply told him to stop being such a baby and suck it up.

"Sorry," he continued, "I just forgot where I was for a moment."

Saber smiled, relieved, and moved to stand by the door, "I'm glad. Your reaction worried me. I will wait outside while you dress yourself."

Mortified, Shirou looked down to realize that he was only in his boxers, and hastily scrambled for his clothes as Saber waited patiently outside. Tying his sneakers together quickly, he hurriedly slid open the door and addressed Saber.

"Please don't tell Rin," he paused, "Or that blue-haired guy."

Saber smiled softly, but said nothing as she led him to the kitchen and dining room, where several of the other Masters were assembled. Caster was nowhere to be seen, but Shinji was morbidly picking at pieces of cereal as he stirred his bowl sleepily at the counter. He was surprised to see Rin and Illyasviel glaring at each other, Illyasviel leaning up on her toes as Rin stared her down with clenched fists at her side.

Rin growled, shaking as her face grew redder and redder, "I said, _no_."

Illyasviel's eyes narrowed, "_Make. Me. Toast_."

Rin growled and brought up her hands to wring out her hair as she twisted violently, "I already told you, you little brat, we don't have any! We're out of eggs and milk and everything else too while we're at it! That idiot Lancer ate them all!"

Shirou heard a gasp behind him, and was surprised to find Saber quivering with nearly as much rage as Rin.

Illyasviel crossed her arms and looked away haughtily with her eyes closed, "My, my, Rin. I would have thought the Tohsaka family would have been capable of at least such a simple task as maintaining our inventory, but it appears that you really do have nothing to offer this alliance beyond your Archer Servant."

Rin seethed, her face boiling as she loomed over the smaller girl, "Why you little-"

Figuring now would be a good time to intervene, Shirou brightly raised his hand and called out to them, "Good morning!"

Rin stopped where she was, her hands freezing as they stopped reaching for Illyasviel, and blinked, "Huh?"

Illyasviel opened her eyes to look at Shirou, her gaze narrowing. Shirou smiled at them both brightly, and moved to inspect the empty fridge. This situation was nothing compared to the peril of a certain hungry Tiger of Fuyuki, and the few times Shirou's kitchen had been out of food had taught him the best way to deal with such things. He hummed to himself and nodded as he closed the empty fridge door and examined the rest of the empty cupboards.

Completing his assessment, he turned back to them with another bright smile and raised one finger beside him, "I know! I'll swing by the market and come back to make us all a big late breakfast. I have to stop by my house anyway to bring back my things, so it's really no problem!"

Illyasviel looked at him suspiciously, and pointed a finger at him, "You promise to bring me back toast?"

Shirou smiled at her reassuringly, "Yep. Cross my heart and hope to die."

Illyasviel paused, thinking for a moment before breaking into the first wide smile Shirou had seen, "Okay! And if you don't, I get to kill you!"

He laughed with her, "Sure, although I hope it doesn't come to that!" He then turned to Rin, "Just wait for me, I'll be back real quick."

He turned for the door, and was surprised when Saber followed him, "Saber? I don't think I'll need help. Besides, there's a truce during the day, right?"

Saber shook her head resolutely, "You must allow me to protect you at all times, Shirou."

Shirou shrugged, giving in amicably, "Alright. I guess I could use the company. I can't take you outside the temple looking like that though."

"I have some old clothes she can use," Rin interrupted, "I never wear them, and they're about her size."

Saber nodded graciously, "My thanks."

Only a few hours later, Shirou walked out of the grocery store with Saber, his arms heavily laden with various foods. Added to the backpack of personal effects he'd brought from his house, he was already dreading the long walk back to the Temple, not to mention the hike up the Temple steps. Saber didn't seem to mind though, her face happy as she shouldered the mountain of food she carried. She wore one of Rin's outifts, a white blouse with a blue skirt and ribbons, and while Shirou thought they fit her very well, he couldn't envision Rin wearing them. Shirou had stopped by his house before coming here, leaving a note for Taiga and Sakura to find explaining that he was helping Issei with a job at the Temple for a time, but would still be attending school. He'd apologized to Taiga for not being able to cook for her, but he was sure she'd chew him out the next chance she got.

He turned to regard Saber as they walked, noting the way her eyes took note of every potential threat in the area, "So what do you think of this whole war, Saber?"

She paused, mulling the question over, "It is different than what I had expected. When you had summoned me, I had been anticipating a traditional Holy Grail War. I was very surprised to learn that we had entered an Apocrypha. It is strange. Usually a Servant must constantly be on guard at all times, but I now have allies to aid in your defense, for a time at least. It is relieving, compared to the past."

Shirou smiled at her, "Wow. You talk almost as if you've done this before."

She lowered her eyes and spoke softly, off to the side, though Shirou took no notice of it, "Yes. Almost as if so."

"Well," Shirou replied brightly, "I'm glad you didn't tell me your true name. If you had, I'm sure Caster would have discovered it, picking around in my head without me knowing, almost exactly like what you said last night. I'm way outclassed compared to these other Masters. I'm glad they're on our side."

Saber nodded, "Thank you, Shirou, for your understanding," She paused, and then turned to face him as they walked across a busy street, joining a crowd of people, "Please, however, do keep in mind that while Rin, Illyasviel, and the others may be our allies for the time being, we will eventually have to face them in battle. Some of them may even die before that point, fighting against the enemy. Please do not get too attached."

A dead and resolute look entered Shirou's eyes as he gazed straight ahead, and Saber felt a slight chill, "I won't let that happen. Even when we do have to face them, I won't kill any of them. The Blue Masters either, or even Ruler's Master. I'm going to save everyone, Saber. Somehow. I refuse to let anyone die."

"Shirou…" Saber began, unable to convey how unrealistic her Master's ideals were.

He turned to face her, "I'm serious, Saber. I don't think you know this, but I was the only survivor of the Great Fuyuki Fire ten years ago."

Saber flinched, and he continued, again not noticing, "Rin told me last night the Fourth Holy Grail War was ten years ago. I can do the math. Some evil man's wish caused that fire. I'm going to make sure that never happens again. That's why I'm fighting in this War. To protect everyone from another tragedy like the one I had to endure. I won't let anyone get hurt ever again. And that includes all the Masters of this war. I'd extend it to the Servants, and I'll save any who listen, but I'm not naïve enough to think that all the Heroic Spirits in this war will just throw down their weapons and walk away. But it's not foolish to want to save people. I _can_ save at least the Masters of this War. And I can save you."

Saber froze, and felt her heart begin to beat faster as Shirou stared determinedly into her eyes with a fire she hadn't seen before, his conviction as sharp as a sword, "I can save you, Saber. I don't know what kind of past you had, that forced such a young girl to become a Heroic Spirit, and I don't know what regrets you have, that you desire the Grail so fiercely. But I can save you now. I swear, I'll fight by your side until both our dreams have become reality."

Saber struggled to dispel the foreign feelings in her heart, and the lump in her throat. Could this boy-no this man, truly be Kiritsugu's son? Her Masters were divided by a wide chasm of differences, but she had seen the picture Shirou had reverently placed in his pack to bring back to the Temple. It was of the same man that took everything from her. That her cold Master from the previous War had fostered such a warm child was unimaginable to her.

Finally trusting herself to speak, she nodded, hoping she wasn't blushing, "Thank you, Shirou."

And just like that, Shirou was back to his normal self, chatting to her amicably, "I hope we bought enough food. We are feeding a lot of people after all, and that Lancer sounds like a big eater."

Saber resisted the growl rising in her throat as she thought of the blue spearman. First he leered at her, and then ate all of her food? Her grip tightened on the paper bags she held. She would have to keep watch on both Shirou and the pantry now. Perhaps she could work out an agreement with Archer or Assassin, or maybe have Shirou move his bed to the kitchen. That might work. She would be able to guard both at the same time then.

"Anyways," Shirou continued, "We should probably pick up the pace heading back. It wouldn't take much for Illyasviel and Rin to go out at each other again, and god knows Shinji won't do anything to calm them down. If we don't want them to wreck the house before tonight, I better get started on that toast."

Saber nodded, following her Master along the road as her stomach growled in agreement.

* * *

><p>Hakuno gazed at the new set of gold Command Seals that appeared on the back of his left palm when Ruler removed her hands from his. He held them up wonderingly, watching them glitter in the light of the hotel room.<p>

"I almost didn't think it'd work," he confessed to her, and she nodded.

She moved to gaze down upon the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows installed along the side of the room, "Indeed. I must admit I was relieved as well that the transfer was a success."

Hakuno joined her, looking out over Fuyuki city. Immediately after leaving the house last night he'd bought her modern clothes, a black skirt and white blouse, after she'd embarrassingly told him her sizes and hid out in the bushes while he entered the woman's department store alone. After she'd changed, they'd used a large portion of their cash to rent the entire top floor of one of the local hotels for at least a month, unsure how long the Grail War would take. The receptionist had been very suspicious of two underage kids with an insane amount of cash wanting to purchase the entire suite, but a couple of extra bills and he had looked the other way. Though he'd made several embarrassing comments about what he thought they might be doing up there, Ruler had eventually convinced the man to not send cleaning service to one of rooms, being very specific. They didn't want anyone stumbling in on the room that would hold the magic circle they would be using for the summoning rituals, which would expose to the secret of magecraft to a civilian at worst, or get them kicked out of the hotel for practicing voodoo magic or some sort at best.

And Hakuno definitely didn't want to get kicked out of the hotel after seeing the awesome suite that took up the entire floor. In addition to the kitchen and multitude of rooms and bathrooms, it even had its own indoor swimming pool and theater house, not to mention an incredible view of the city and the red Fuyuki Bridge crossing the river. It was beyond what he could only ever dream about when Hakuno still lived on the streets, and he was secretly hoping the Grail War would take a long time, just so he could enjoy the place a little longer.

"It's starting to get pretty dark out there," he remarked to Ruler, "Think I can summon my Servant yet?"

She frowned, glancing at a silver watch Hakuno had bought her, "It's only 7:30. I would wait."

Hakuno looked over at her pleadingly, "Yeah, but you said you'll need a little bit after helping me with the summoning to recover from the strain, right?"

When she nodded uncertainly, he continued, "So all the more reason to do it now, so that you can recharge before it really gets to the night, and the War starts again. I was planning to show you around the city tonight so you could get a lay of the land, remember? And you said we definitely shouldn't leave until we have at least two Servants summoned, including yourself."

Ruler frowned, "Yes, but the system needs to recharge as well or-"

Hakuno sighed, and began pulling her towards the room where they had erected the magic circle in preparation that morning, "Yes, but if we wait you might not recover in time tonight for us to survey the entire city."

Ruler gave in with a sigh of her own, and allowed herself to be dragged out of the room, "Fine. If you're so concerned let's just try it now."

"Thank you," Hakuno proclaimed with a wide smile, entering the cleared away room.

The bed had been pushed to one side, along with all of the other furniture, to make space for the massive magic circle inscribed in the ground. Ruler took up a position behind him, waiting patiently to assist him, and he stepped forward and raised his left hand, emblazoned with the new gold Command Seals, towards the magic circle. Pausing to smile reassuringly over his shoulder at Ruler, who smiled weakly back, he took a deep breath and began to chant the first verse of the summoning ritual. While he knew Ruler was hoping for a Caster Servant, citing Hakuno's lack of ability to erect Bounded Fields around the suite as one of the worst weaknesses of their chosen base, Hakuno was secretly hoping for one of the three legendary knight classes. He had the utmost faith in Ruler, but it wouldn't hurt to have another badass like her on his team. He supposed a Rider or Caster wouldn't be so bad, but he didn't really want an Assassin just yet. As for a Berserker, Hakuno wasn't sure he was experienced enough as Master to control such an unpredictable Servant, despite the potential massive power boost to his team. Also, combining an extremely expensive penthouse at the top of a skyscraper with a Berserker Servant didn't seem like such a great idea.

He felt his prana begin to slowly ebb away from him as the circle began to glow, but he wasn't worried. As Ruler had predicted, supporting a second Servant was so far barely taking a strain on his magic circuits. As he chanted more and more of the verses, he felt Ruler helping behind him, allowing him access once more to the Throne of Heroes. Red lightening began to crackle from the circle as it lit up, and smoke began to billow up blocking the center from his view. A strong wind began to push Hakuno back, flinging his brown hair into his eyes as he squinted, but he pushed his hand with the Command Seals forward defiantly, continuing the ritual. He wondered if summoning Ruler had been the same like this, and if he had simply been too terrified to notice details like the lightning and wind or smoke, or if this was new due to him summoning a Servant for the first time through Ruler's additional Command Seals.

As he completed the summoning spell, red lightning crackled one final time from the circle, and a loud thunderclap rang throughout the room, threatening to shake the walls. Hakuno coughed and waved his hands about, trying to dissipate the smoke suddenly entering his lungs and blocking his view. He heard Ruler behind him doing the same. He looked down to see his second set of Command Seals shining brightly against the back of his palm, and he peered hesitantly into the middle of the dust-storm, anxious to know if he'd succeeded in summoning his second Servant. Suddenly, a red blur darted from the smoke and tackled him to the cold floor, and he heard Ruler gasp as he was knocked back. She soon realized he wasn't in any danger though. A young girl sat on top of his chest, with tan skin and amber eyes. She wore some ornate black armor, with little more than the rags of a red overcoat to cover herself. A wide smile split her face and she raised a hand to flick back a strand of her snow-colored hair proudly as she looked down at Hakuno.

"I am your Archer servant," She declared and then smiled even wider, before launching herself down on Hakuno excitedly in a hug, "So you must be my Onii-chan!"

"Wha-" he started, before the breath was knocked out of him. He was too confused to process what was happening. This little girl was a Servant, and one of the three legendary knight classes at that?

She giggled as she laid her head on his chest to look up at him, "What? I don't really want to go around calling you Master all day," She paused and then narrowed her eyes at him slyly, "Unless you're into that kind of thing."

"Wha-" Hakuno gasped out again, trying to comprehend what she just said.

She laughed and sat back up on top of him. One hand played with her hair while she leered at him teasingly, "You aren't the most articulate Master, are you Onii-chan? Have I got you all riled up?"

"That's enough!" Ruler hissed, picking her up singlehandedly off Hakuno, her cheeks bright red, a color he matched. She set her off to the side, and turned to Hakuno, both amazed by the mindset of the brazen little girl. The only calm one was Archer, who nonchalantly pushed her away as soon as Ruler let her go. She bit her lip staring at Ruler as she helped Hakuno up off the floor, and crossed her arms, either pouting or getting angry.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

Ruler stiffened, "I am Hakuno's Servant, Ruler."

Archer narrowed her eyes, "_I'm_ his Servant."

Sensing a dangerous situation, Hakuno jumped in between them from the side of the room, "No, no, wait! You're both my Servants! I used some of the Command Seals from Ruler's Noble Phantasm to summon you, Acrher."

"Kuro. Call me Kuro." She corrected him automatically, eyeing Ruler.

"Kuro?" he repeated hesitantly, "But what if someone overhears me calling you by your real name?"

"No one could possibly know who I am here, Onii-chan," she brushed his complaint aside, "Trust me on this one. But that doesn't answer any of this. As far as I know, there wasn't ever any Ruler class card, er-Servant I mean, in the Einzbern's Holy Grail War."

Ruler grit her teeth, and he could tell she already disliked this little girl, "The Ruler class is a fifteenth Servant to be summoned after all the others, to both protect and participate in the war alongside a human Master."

"Uh-huh," Kuro said, drawing the word out disbelievingly, "But I'm pretty sure there's only supposed to be seven servants in the first place."

"The Mage's Association of this time has triggered an Apocrypha, just like in the First Holy Grail War."

Kuro blinked innocently and leaned forward, "A what?"

Ruler frowned, "You don't know?"

"Nope."

"I understand being confused over being summoned into an Apocrypha, but you should at least understand the concept. How could you not know what it is? All servants are supposed to have access to the Throne of Heroes. It should provide you with all the information on the Holy Grail War and all its forms, even an Apocrypha."

"Yeah, I don't have a library card to your giant cosmic space museum, sorry. I'm going straight off past experience here."

"How could you not have access?"

Kuro smiled smugly and leaned back with her arms crossed, "I'm a bit of an anomaly. I guess you could say I'm cheating, but I'm not exactly a normal Servant."

Ruler rounded Hakuno angrily, and he flinched, having never seen her mad before. "I told you to wait until the system had completely recharged to attempt another summoning", she said heatedly, "and now you've wasted the Archer class and summoned an incomplete Servant!"

Her anger was suddenly directed away from Hakuno as Kuro grabbed her hand and spun her about to face her. Kuro's eye twitched as she glared at Ruler dangerously, and she summoned two wicked-looking curved swords from thin air, "Who the hell are you calling incomplete?"

Ruler stiffened and summoned her own battle-gear and sword, placing herself between Hakuno and the girl, "What kind of Archer uses two swords? And why can't I read your identity or any of your stats?"

"What?" Hakuno asked.

Ruler nodded, "Master, you know of the Ruler class's ability to discern the identity of enemy Servants, yes?"

"Of course," Hakuno frowned, and turned to face Kuro, "What's going on?"

Kuro grinned mockingly, "I told you, I cheat."

Ruler growled, and leveled her sword at the girl, "You do understand part of the Ruler class's responsibility is to uphold the sanctity of the War? If I discover you truly are cheating in any way, or jeopardizing the War, I will have to cut you down, ally or not."

Kuro raised an eyebrow, "Oh, are we allies now? Because it doesn't look that way from the way you're pointing that sword at me."

"Alright, that's enough," Hakuno interrupted, "I won't let this go on any further."

"Why not?" Kuro suggested, "We'll have to fight each other eventually, won't we, to decide who gets to make their wish from the Grail?"

Ruler and Hakuno both froze, neither of them having considered such a thing. Now that Hakuno thought about, it was a major flaw. He would eventually have eight Servants, but would only be able to allow one of them to make their wish.

Kuro smiled sadly, looking at both of them as the complication only just occurred to them, "Haven't really thought it all the way through yet, have you then?"

Ruler paused, "No, we-I…no. We have not," she leaned back and dispelled her armor, looking to the side sheepishly, "I am sorry. I was rude. I hope we can work together to protect Hakuno in the future."

Kuro nodded, and allowed her twin blades to vanish, "Protecting Hakuno's my only job. If you can help with that, I'm sure we can get along."

Ruler nodded back, and turned to Hakuno, "I must rest now, Master, to recover from having opened the Throne of Heroes. I should be ready to go out within an hour or so."

Hakuno nodded, giving her a brief smile, "Got it. Thank you for your help. And I'm sorry for not listening to you."

She smiled weakly back before heading out the door to her room, "And I apologize for getting angry. It was unbecoming of me."

Hakuno nodded, and turned to Kuro, who bounced with excitement, "Oooohhh, are we going out for some action tonight?"

Hakuno paused, still struggling to comprehend that this little girl really was his Servant, "Who are you, really?"

She latched onto his arm possessively, "Just your faithful Archer Servant."

He sighed and began to head for the theater to watch a movie while Ruler rested, "Alright, you can just tell me later. I guess you can just watch a movie with me, or go into spirit form and rest for a while until Ruler's recovered.

"Oh, I definitely choose the movie with Onii-chan. Besides, I can't do the other one anyway."

Hakuno paused, "What? You can't go into spirit form?"

"Nope! I told you I'm special, remember?"

"Well, that makes two I guess," he grumbled, "Well, movie it is then."

"I wanna watch something rated R," Kuro piped up from his side.

"Of course you do."

**A/N: Poor Saber, with Lancer stealing all her food. Anyways, this chapter is a little calm before the storm, and I promise the first real battle between the Red and Blue Factions next chapter. I'm trying to get it out before this weekend's over, since I won't be able to write too much after this probably as I have to start studying for finals, but I don't know if I will. As always, a huge thanks to all the awesome reviews/follows/favorites. Those reviews are especially motivating, so thank you. So a lot of people have been suggesting Servants for Hakuno, and while I do have my own pre-set list, I'm considering switching characters that are getting enough requests in, or at least finding a way to use them as a cameo of sorts later on. More on that when we're farther into the story. So Archer was summoned this chapter, as Kuro from Fate/Kaleid Liner. I wanted to give Hakuno Archer from Extra, but I don't think it's possible to have two of the same heroic spirits summoned in one war, since Rin already has him, so Kuro appealed to me as the perfect substitute, seeing as she uses Archer's class card. And anyone who's seen Kaleid Liner should be able to understand why she'd be so upset about being called incomplete. I can also confirm that Saber and Caster are set in stone as Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus and Tamamo-no-Mae respectively, from Fate Extra. No promises on when they'll be summoned though. I did laugh a little each time you guys asked for them though. As if Hakuno could be paired with any other Saber or Caster Servants. Anyways, you can all feel free to keep submitting character requests for the remaining four classes if you want, and I'll consider them. Also in this chapter we get a very tiny teaser of Julian's plans, which I can't wait to reveal, but I've got to whittle down the competition a bit before we get there. Some hints of Shirou's fractured mindset, and I have to say I'm excited to turn him into a badass down the line. Bring on the reality marble. So finally, if you guys have any characters you want a POV from, just leave their names in a review, since I am going to try and expand the perspectives more and more as we get farther into the story. As always, thanks for reviewing and supporting the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Shirou walked along the darkened streets uncomfortably, Saber at his side. He glanced to his left at Illyasviel, his partner for patrol that evening. He wasn't sure why she'd volunteered to go with him tonight, since she hadn't said a word to him the entire time so far. He idly wondered if he'd perhaps messed up on the breakfast earlier that day, but she had seemed to enjoy it, along with everyone else. Rin had even gone as far to delegate him official chef of the Red Faction, not that he was complaining. But he honestly couldn't figure out why Illyasviel acted so strangely around him.

He looked at her again, and caught her biting her lip as if she was struggling with something. He quickly looked back ahead, not wanting to be caught staring, although she stared at him all the time. Saber was no help either, being even quieter than usual around the girl. He racked his brain in vain for some kind of conversation he could bring up, desperate to break the silence.

"So what's Berserker like?" he asked, and he could have sworn Saber facepalmed behind him.

Illyasviel's gaze shot over at him with narrowed eyes, but she replied after a moment's hesitation, "Mad. He screams in my head a lot."

"You can do that?" Shirou asked, genuinely interested, "Communicate with your Servant in your head?"

Illyasviel nodded, "Of course. It's really hard to do when they're not in spirit form though."

Shirou looked over at Saber, his excitement fading slightly, "Oh. I was kind of hoping I could learn how to do that."

Illyasviel sighed, "I'm not really the person you should be asking for help from. Berserker and I don't really talk."

"Yeah, I guess," Shirou nodded, "But I thought I might as well ask, since you seem to know so much about magic."

Illyasviel nodded wordlessly, and Shirou pressed on, not wanting to let the conversation die, "So where are the Einzberns from?"

She paused, as if deciding whether or not to keep talking, before replying "Germany."

"Really?" Shirou asked, surprised, "My dad used to go on business trips there all the time before he got too sick. Mage business and stuff, he'd always tell me. I wonder if he knew your family."

Illyasviel began to tremble, and Shirou looked at her concernedly, "Are you cold? Here, you can have my jacket if you want."

"No!" Illyasviel spit back, before calming herself and replying coldly, "I'm fine, thank you."

Puzzled, Shirou swung the jacket back around his shoulders, "Alright. But I bet your parents are really proud of you, coming all the way to a foreign country like Japan all alone for this War. I don't think I could ever do that, let alone at your age."

Illyasviel stopped to squeeze her eyes shut and she trembled and breathed heavily, prompting Shirou to stop, crouch down, and examine her closely in concern, "Are you sure you're all right? Your nose is a little red. Maybe you are catching a cold? Are you sure you don't want my jacket?"

Illyasviel's blood red eyes snapped open menacingly, and she stared at Shirou angrily while her voice rose, "I'm fine. I'm not cold. And it's my grandfather, not my parents. And I'm older than I look!"

Shirou blinked and then leaned back up, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly with a good natured smile, "Sorry, I forgot it's rude to ask a girl her age. No wonder you're mad at me. I promise to make you a cake or something as an apology when we get back to the Temple."

Illyasviel stared at him, a small tear beginning to form in her right eye. There were so many unfamiliar feelings in her chest. This was the man that her father had abandoned her for. She wanted to hate him. She had every right to. She'd meant to, from the moment she'd heard his name when he came to the Temple. But it was hard. He wasn't supposed to be cute, or nice, or smile at her, or offer her his coat, or make her yummy food. She wasn't supposed to want to hug him when he reached down to look over her concernedly, or want him to pat her head. She was supposed to let Berserker rip into him, to tear him apart until there was nothing left. It was easy when he unknowingly mentioned Kiritsugu. That just meant he hadn't even cared about her enough to tell Shirou he had a daughter. It was easy to get mad at that man. But why was it so hard to hate Shirou? It wasn't that she needed Saber to help defeat the Blue Faction. She didn't understand, and the only way she knew how to react was to release tears of frustration.

"Why?" she asked, struggling to not completely bawl at his feet like the six year-old girl she looked like, "Why are you so nice to me?"

Shirou paused, confused and uncertain whether bending down to hug her would improve the situation or worsen it, "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"

At that Illyasviel threatened to break into another flood of tears, but she instead looked up at Shirou with watery eyes, "Shut up."

Shirou closed his mouth obdeintly, and Saber attempted to intervene, speaking up for the first time, "Lady Einzbern…"

"Shut up," Illyasviel repeated, sniffling as she wiped her nose and peered down the darkened street and into the forest beside the road, "Both of you. Someone's coming."

* * *

><p>Luvia waited silently at the forest's edge, watching the ground race beneath her feet through Rider's eyes as he ran back to her. She blinked several times to pull herself out of his head and return to her own vision before looking at her companions. She looked over at Leo and Beatrice, who were silently waiting nearby where they crouched beneath bushes alongside her.<p>

"I was right," Luvia began, "There are two Masters out there. Rider saw them, although he thinks the little girl might have noticed him. That Saber servant is there with her Master for sure, but I don't know which Servant the girl controls."

Leo smiled at her as he began to pull out a cell phone to text Julius, "Excellent. It will take a while for the others to get here, with how spread out we are, so we should proceed with caution."

Luvia eyed the device distastefully. While she, along with most mages, despised most of modern technology apart from a few essentials, she couldn't deny it was one of the few inventions science had produced that trumped any kind of communication magecraft, so long as it could get a damn signal. She turned her attention back to Beatrice, who was speaking once again.

"There's three of us and two of them," the girl hissed, "We should be attacking. The others can join in when they get here."

Leo smiled, "I never said we wouldn't be attacking. Only to fight cautiously until reinforcements arrive."

A shower of red mist materialized as Rider appeared at her side, "I trust my Master has conveyed my findings to you, Masters of Saber and Lancer?"

When they nodded, he smirked and continued, "Then allow me to enter battle, so that my spear might taste their blood."

Luvia exchanged a glance with Leo before she nodded and stood back, giving Rider the space he needed. He smiled maliciously at her and summoned his halberd, cutting his wrist and wetting the blade with his blood before he staked it into the ground. He began to chant a verse as Saber and Lancer appeared as well. Saber looked nervous, as if he was dreading something, but Lancer balanced her spear excitedly, her dragon's tail swinging back and forth. Rider finished his incantation, and there was a flash of light before his massive war horse appeared before him. The steed snorted angrily, stomping its hooves as it tossed its black mane, its red eyes already alight with battlelust.

Rider grinned as he hoisted himself up into his saddle, twirling his halberd expertly, "Ah, Red Hare. We ride together once again."

Lancer growled at the horse, pinching her nose disgustedly, "He smells."

Rider growled back, and Saber steadied himself as he stood to address the assembled Masters with a small bow, "I shall bring the first victory of this War to you, noble Masters."

Beatrice snorted, and Luvia couldn't help but agree as the girl spoke, "You're facing an experienced runt and a girl that's almost as young as Erika. Of course you're gonna win."

Leo however, merely smiled benevolently, "Go Saber, and take the first step to obtain us the Grail."

He nodded, and Rider turned his warhose to charge into the forest towards the road where the two enemies waited, the other two Servants hurrying after him. Luvia smiled as she once again began to connect herself to Rider's mind, and was just about to congratulate herself on the first victory of the war when she heard the inhuman roar.

* * *

><p>Hakuno groaned, dragging his feet as he followed Ruler and Kuro up the gently sloping hill, "I can't believe we haven't found anyone yet. We've been out here for hours."<p>

"Be grateful, Master," Ruler reproached him, "This is to be a scouting-mission only, remember? We are not hoping to engage the enemy tonight."

"Speak for yourself," Kuro interjected, "I'm with Onii-chan. I wanna get some action tonight."

Ruler didn't bother to reply, continuing to lead them up the hill to look down on the empty residential district below. Hakuno paused at the top, taking in the sight of the city. It amazed him how they could all sleep so peacefully, with no idea of the war taking place just below their noses.

"Meh," Kuro grunted, "It's a better view from the penthouse."

"I know," Hakuno agreed, explaining himself, "I just wanted a rest."

Ruler paused, looking back at them, as Kuro continued, "Nah, this is a bad place to stop. Rest later. Sitting on top of a hill like this with the moon behind us like it is, we're outlined to be clear targets to everyone miles around."

Ruler frowned, "Perhaps we should move…"

"Gah, too late," Kuro sighed as she moved forward and started popping her knuckles, "Looks like I jinxed us."

Ruler summoned her battle dress and moved towards Hakuno, and he was about to ask Kuro what she meant when she suddenly summoned her twin swords, darting in front of him to slice at the seemingly empty air. There was a loud clang, and Hakuno caught a glimpse of something shiny that spun away from his face, deflected by Kuro. He watched as she raised her white sword, twisting it so that an arrow hit the flat of the blade and clanged to the earth, while she swung around the black sword to skew another arrow off course.

"Ruler?" She called out nonchalantly, continuing to deflect arrows as Hakuno stood paralyzed, "Could you please take Onii-chan back down the hill away from danger while I take care of this guy?"

Ruler nodded and ran over, dragging Hakuno away, being forced to deflect some of the arrows herself that tried to stop her from escaping with her Master. Kuro abandoned her swords and materialized a bow of her own however, and began firing at the unseen Archer, attracting his attention. Hakuno stared at the strange arrow at her feet, noting its spiraling appearance, before Ruler succeeded in dragging him back over the crest of the hill. Once Ruler and Hakuno disappeared, Kuro smiled to herself, her eyes locked on the figure miles away she could just barely make out with her superb eyesight. She let her bow shatter into fragments of prana, and dashed forward at full speed to reach the Archer before he decided to retreat. She oh so dearly wanted to have a conversation with her other Onii-chan after all.

* * *

><p>Shirou stared shocked at the monster that stood before Illyasviel, just finishing its roar as it raised the massive stone slab it had fashioned as a sword. It roared again as it darted forward, smashing down the slab towards another massive man atop a black battlehorse, which nimbly reared away from the blow, if only just barely. Rider-it had to be him Shirou deduced-moved his steed back, running it around Shirou and Illyasviel in wide circles as he smiled threateningly and twirled his massive halberd with extreme skill. Saber placed herself in front of the two Masters, her eyes constantly shifting as she tracked the rotating enemy servant.<p>

"That's Berserker?" Shirou managed to stammer out, "There's no way that's a man!"

Illyasviel smiled with a predatory gleam in her eye, a new confident aura around her Shirou hadn't seen before, one that made him slightly wary, "You're right. Hercules is more than a man. He's the greatest hero that's ever lived, and the strongest Heroic Spirit in this war."

Hercules roared, his ivory skin rippling, as he hurled himself at Rider. The Servant danced away on his warhorse unfazed, darting his halberd along Berserker's side, but the man didn't even seem to notice as he continued forward. Rider would have been trampled, had a girl with pink hair and dragon horns and tail not crashed into Berserker, just barely diverting him enough off course to miss the Servant. The girl landed lightly on her feet, twirling her crystalized lance as she winked over at Shirou and Illyasviel. Saber froze beside Shirou, and he followed her gaze to another knight in silver who had emerged from the forest and stood still as well, looking equally stricken.

"Gawain…" Saber breathed, her face a conflict of emotions.

"My King," the knight began, starting to bend a knee but stopping himself as he struggled, his face aghast, "I had feared-no, I had dreaded this. It is you."

"It is I." Saber nodded sadly, looking like she was steeling herself.

Gawain swallowed and spoke weakly, almost as if he were pleading for help, "My allegiance is divided by two masters…"

Saber hardened her features, and Shirou saw a change come over her, "I must obtain the Grail, Saber. Though I will mourn your passing once more, my heart leaps with joy to cross blades with you one last time."

Gawain had a hurt look on his face as she referred to him by his class, but he too steeled himself and wiped away his emotion, looking almost grateful that she had distance herself from him before he raised his blade, "It is I who is honored to face you, noble King of Knights."

Saber seemed to pause for one moment before Shirou lost track of her as she rocketed herself forward, wind blasting out from behind her footsteps as she crossed blades with the enemy in a furious ring of steel.

* * *

><p>Kuro growled as she deflected yet another flying sword with her twin blades, grunting as all three weapons shattered. She landed lightly on her feet on rooftop, quickly tracing two more blades, before she darted forward to the next roof, the clang of an arrow coming behind from the spot she had only just vacated. It was rare, when he missed her entirely like that, she thought as she deflected yet another projection. He obviously wasn't using Hrunting anymore, and she wondered why. He'd stopped running too, after she'd chased him across half the damn city. He'd halted once he reached the top of the bridge, simply planting his feet to project arrow after arrow and fire them at her. Perhaps he'd decided to let her catch up to him after all. She growled again as she leapt over a particularly nasty shot that zoomed just below her, this time grazing a thin line across her exposed stomach. He'd always told her she should cover up her midsection, claiming it was for protection purposes, but she knew he simply really hadn't wanted her running around half-naked all the time. The price of looking fabulous, she supposed.<p>

She finally cleared the buildings and ran swiftly along the sidewalk up towards the bridge, jumping onto the red steel cables of the structure. A steady stream of arrows launched at her, and she was forced to trace her blades three more times as she advanced through the storm, each sword breaking after six or seven arrows. Constantly moving back and forth in attempt to make it harder for him, she continued to deflect the arrows off-course. He was fast, she realized, her eyes darting as she managed to just barely predict where each strike would appear from. She finally reached the top, and ran along the curve of the frame towards the center where he stood, her blades extended out behind her. He recognized the twin swords of course, and she saw his lips tighten distastefully. But his eyes shocked her. The kind eyes she knew, that lit up with fierce determination whenever she'd seen him fight, seemed dead and cold to her. It was almost as if he'd resigned himself to an unfortunate fate, and she wondered where the excitement that usually accompanied him had gone. He dispelled his bow to project two larger copies of her blades, holding them at the ready as he melted into that familiar suicidal stance.

She dashed forward, bringing up both of her blades for an overhead strike. He twisted and jabbed Kanshou forward, forcing her to bring her down her swords to deflect the blow that would have skewered her through her stomach. As soon as she committed both of her blades to defending his one, he twisted again, bringing about his other sword in a wide arc that surely would take her head clean off if it reached her. She immediately dropped to the ground, feeling the blow breeze above her, and darted under his arm to the side, bringing her swords about to slice his chest as she passed. But he brought back up his other sword and deflected the blow, turning about face her as he dashed forward. Kuro backpedalled, off-balance, and her swords shattered as she blocked the flurry of blows from her opponent, the final attack sending her sliding back several feet, coming to rest only just at the edge before the massive drop to the bay below. She took a moment to notice a slow stream of blood dribbling from a small gash in her forearm, likely obtained when her swords had shattered. She laughed and projected two new blades, grinning as she saw his face tighten. She'd forgotten just how accurately he could always predict his opponent's strikes. It was time then, she decided, to hit him with something he couldn't expect.

She leapt into the air above him, grinning wildly before she performed the one trick he couldn't do. She imagined his eyes widening as she disappeared, teleporting right behind him as she vanished in a red light. She heard him grunt in surprise, but to his credit he reacted almost immediately, spinning around to force her away, although she'd managed to nick his back with the tips of her blades as she'd come down. She grinned as she darted back away from the precise slashes of his blades, again teleporting to his right. He whipped Bakuya out around him, and she immediately teleported behind him once more only to be driven back by Kanshou. The deadly dance continued for several minutes, but he soon adjusted his style, leaving even fewer openings as he began to play more defensively. There were times her movement would give her an edge, but more often than not his style of leaving deliberate openings so that he could accurately guess where she would attack worked. She'd always hated that style, and had told him many times that all it would take would be one solid blow that he couldn't deflect in time, and he'd be done. But it seemed she couldn't land that one blow today, despite her unpredictable movement and efforts.

She teleported several feet in front of him, pausing with a hand on her hip as he regarded her coolly, "I gotta say, you're pretty good to keep up with that on the first go. It took you ages to get used to my tricks before."

He paused and snorted, appearing to relax, although she knew he was ready to move at a moment's notice, "If you've met me before then my guess that you're a female Emiya Shirou is out. Who are you?"

"Onii-chan," she chided, "Don't you recognize me?"

He glared at her, "I'm not in the mood for your games, Illya."

She smiled, "Close, but not quite right. It's Chloe, but you can call me Kuro. It's complicated though, so I guess I should give you the point."

He grunted, studying her, "You do look different."

"I copied your tan."

"Obviously. Why are you here?"

"You attacked my Master. What was I supposed to do?"

"Get out of the way."

"Easy for you to say. You're grumpier than my version."

He grunted again and she continued, "Aren't you the least bit interested in me?"

"Not at the moment, no."

Kuro pouted, "Well then, maybe I should just go talk to this world's Shirou and tell him how there's a future version of himself running around."

Archer glared at her, "I would advise against that. But if you must, go ahead. He won't believe you, and even if he does it won't stop any of my plans."

Kuro grimaced and crossed her arms, dispelling her swords, "You're a lot meaner than my version too."

Archer let his blades disappear and faced her, his cloak rippling out behind him, "What is it you want? If we're not going to fight, I can't sit around listening to you talk all night. A certain matter has just come to my attention."

"I wanted to protect my Master, but I got curious when I saw you running around. I guess you really did manage to become a Heroic Spirit after all. But if you just want to talk business, that's fine. How about a temporary truce until you kill off all those Blue Servants?"

Archer narrowed his eyes at her mention of his ascent to the Throne of Heroes, but turned his back and began to walk away once she finished speaking, "Done. Feel free to kill all the Red Servants as well."

Kuro blinked, "You don't care about your teammates?"

He turned and looked at her coldly over his shoulder before vanishing, "Of course not."

"Huh," Kuro mused, staring at the spot where he disappeared, "definitely a bigger jerk than my version."

* * *

><p>Berserker screamed as he continued to tear up the earth with his blows, each nimbly avoided by Lancer. She knew she likely couldn't survive more than one direct hit, but her speed allowed her to evade most of them. And while Berserker was indeed a feared enemy, there was little strategy to his blows, and they were easily predictable. Rider darted around each strike, scoring Berserker along the back of down the leg before dancing just out of reach, just in time for Lancer to recapture Berserker's attention with a strike of her own. The giant roared in frustration, and his furious eyes narrowed on Lancer. He launched himself forward, the earth shattering beneath his feet as he moved. Lancer too ran forward, and nimbly slid between Berserker's legs, slicing open his ankles with the blade of her spear. Berserker turned and roared defiantly, swinging the jagged rock sword down on Lancer's prone form, but Rider once again intervened, dashing the blade to the side with a blow from his halberd. Lancer recovered in that moment, and somersaulted back to once again give herself space. Rider too, moved his mount away from Berserker to the opposite end. Berserker growled, torn between the two enemies at opposite ends and the need to stay close enough to his Master to protect her in case any of the Servants should shift their attention away from him.<p>

Lancer solved the problem for him, dashing forward with her spear leveled, Rider charging as well across from her. But the instincts of Hercules took over, and he moved incredibly nimbly despite the haze of the madness that covered his thoughts. He spun to his side, presenting a smaller target to both Servants, and smashed his sword into the ground at Lancer's feet, forcing her to jump away and abandon her attack or else be crushed. He crouched immediately, and the swish of air that ruffled his hair told him of Rider's mounted attack just barely skimming over his head. Fast as lightning, his free hand immediately shot up to grab the shaft of the halberd as soon as he felt the blow breeze by, and Rider, too surprised by the action to let go of his weapon, was hauled out of his saddle along with it. The warhorse snorted as it charged on without a master, and Berserker quickly stood, hoisting the halberd above his head along with the dangling Rider. Releasing his grip on his sword, he immediately plunged his freed fist into Rider's stomach, cracking bone as he sent the Servant flying to shatter a string of trees until he finally skidded to a rest in a trough of torn-up earth. Berserker roared, and twisted the halberd to launch it at Lancer, who was quickly backpedalling away. Caught in retreat, she could only hope to deflect it with her spear, but the blow rang off of her lance loud enough to send her reeling, off-balance. Berserker dashed forward once more, and this time she had no defense as he mercilessly hammered into her side, sending her flying before she landed in a crater of her own in the middle of the road. Hercules grunted and lifted his stone sword from the broken earth, dangling it at his side as he turned to gaze at Rider returning to the battlefield, with a newly summoned halberd and murderous look in his eyes, his mount abandoned and forgotten as it dematerialized.

Saber, meanwhile, exchanged a furious series of blows with Gawain, their swordplay ringing loudly in the night only to be occasionally drowned out by Berserker's roar. Two Knights of the Round Table, both masters of the sword, Shirou could barely keep track of their battle as he stood paralyzed beside the smug Illyasviel. Saber darted forward continuously, pushing off the ground in furious bursts of wind. She swiped her invisible blade up towards Gawain's chest, sparks erupting as he deflected it with his own sword. He pressed her back, skillfully bringing about wide arcs of his sword as he rained down a furry of blows. Saber retreated steadily, blocking each blow with methodical precision, and then suddenly deflected Gawain's blow violently, angling both their blades towards the earth. Saber's invisible blade, positioned atop Gawain's as she forced it down, began to sweep along the length of the weapon towards the owner. Gawain bent back, an arm steadying himself below him, and tilted his head back, allowing the sword to pass just over the armor of his chest. A thin red line appeared on the tip of his chin as the sword swung by, and he pushed himself back with his hand on the ground. His feet lifted up to clip Saber on the chin, throwing her head back violently, and he swung his sword in a wide arc as he somersaulted backwards away from her. She hurriedly deflected it as she recovered and dashed forward with Prana Burst once again, her blade raised in a powerful overhead strike. Gawain landed on his feet and recovered immediately as well, raising his blade to meet her sword.

The loud crash rang out across the battlefield as the two warriors stood locked in combat, their feet both firmly sinking into the soft earth beside the road as they pushed against each other. Their blades locked in a test of strength, Gawain searched into Saber's struggling eyes, but found only strained determination. It saddened him, as he was sure his own eyes were awash with anguish. The two remained locked for a moment longer, before Gawain twisted his weapon and supported the flat of his blade as he shoved their locked swords to their side, bringing up his elbow into Saber's shoulder, a blow that sent her stumbling. As their clash broke he hurled his sword forward with all of his might behind it, hoping to catch her while down, but she nimbly twisted and brought up her invisible blade in her own strike. Gawain jumped back too late, avoiding the worst of the blow but still grunting as he felt the holy sword shear through his silver armor into his shoulder, leaving a long gash as he moved out of range and fell to one knee. He idly touched a hand to the wound, wonderingly bringing up the bloodied appendage to study it before him.

"Interesting," he began, as Saber momentarily paused her assault, "That spirits such as us can still bleed. Do you think it still means we live, in some way or another, my King? Are we truly here, or are we merely echoes of our so called great deeds that these people worship?"

"We are here," Saber replied sadly, "The Grail has brought us forth."

"Please," Gawain begged, sensing she didn't understand, "Are we really here? Is this really us? If so, why can I not choose to serve you, to atone for my previous failure of a service? Please my King, why must I face you? I do not understand."

Saber froze, remembering Rider's words from long ago, but any reply she might have made never happened as she hurriedly brought up her sword to deflect a sickly green arrow that flew towards her from the forest. A barrage followed the first, and she was forced away from Gawain, who slowly struggled to his feet. Her keen eyes made out the enemy Archer in the forest, his feet planted amidst the branches of a wide oak tree as he drew back three more arrows. A tattered hood covered orange scraggy hair, and his boots were planted widely against the wood as he drew back the string of his bow. Mustering her strength she shouted and brought her invisible blade down before her, releasing a blast of wind. Archer paused, hesitating, and fired off the arrows before jumping to another tree. Saber was immediately assaulted by Gawain once more, and forced to defend herself as her former friend attacked, supported by more arrows.

Shirou stared from Illyasviel's side, eyes wide as he watched Berserker hammer away at Rider, who was darting around the massive Servant with his halberd. Lancer had shakily joined him again, but moved noticeably slower and with more caution, leaving most of the combat to the enraged Rider, who still stubbornly fought on foot. Illyasviel had crossed her arms beside him, seemingly confident and unworried. Shirou's eyes however, were suddenly drawn to the forest by an unknown instinct. He wasn't sure why but he sensed an incredible danger all of his sudden, and not from the conflict that surrounded him. He frowned, and suddenly gasped, reacting without thought. He hurled his arm out forcefully before Illyasivel, shoving her to the ground as she squeaked in surprise. He grunted as a wooden arrow tore through his forearm, coming to a rest with the bloodied shaft still stuck in his arm. It glowed a sickly green, and Shirou regarded it in a haze. He watched as a light appeared from the point of the arrow and ran down to his arm, where it pulsed before entering his skin.

Illyasviel reacted immediately as soon as she saw the arrow hit, hurriedly projecting a magical shield between them and the forest, but it soon began to crack under the barrage that erupted from the enemy Servant. She turned to the dazed Shirou, quickly examining the wound as she tenderly lifted his arm with shaking hands, and determined it was beyond her ability to heal. She stared at his blank eyes, both furious and incredibly grateful that he had taken the blow for her. She was about to chew him out, when he suddenly lurched forward and began to retch, his skin becoming cold and clammy as he was hit with a wave of intense nausea. Her eyes widened as she recognized the poison, and she screamed to her Servant as her magical barrier began to crumble.

"Berserker!"

The giant roared, fueled by his Master's fear, and swung his sword about in a deadly arc that forced both of his enemies away from him. He brought it overhead and swung it down with all of his might, creating a huge fissure that raced forward towards Archer's position, forcing him to abandon his assault as he jumped out from the forest that collapsed around him. Saber immediately disengaged from Gawain as soon as Archer ended his simultaneous support, running to Shirou, as she'd felt him been injured.

She moved to his side, where he was being cradled by Illyasviel, and looked at her with worried eyes, "What happened?"

"Poison," the girl replied fearfully, "I can't heal this. We need to get back to Caster."

Saber was about to reply, but felt a hostile presence from behind her. She turned and raised her sword to see Rider charging at her, having abandoned Berserker to Archer and Lancer so that he could eliminate Hercules's Master. She readied herself, but he was suddenly blown off course by an explosion that sent him skidding to the side. Rider growled as he caught himself, and she followed his eyes to see their Archer standing down the road with another arrow extended in his bow, his red coat rippling out behind him. His eyes narrowed as he took in the scene, and allowed the sword in his bow to break just a little, crackling with prana, before launching it at Rider. He deflected it with his halberd, but the contact still resulted in another small explosion, sending him stumbling backward.

Rider tightened his grip on his weapon, and his eyes danced with a furious light as he roared at Archer, "You dare to challenge _me_ with the bow?"

"Archer!" Saber called out, relieved that their allies had arrived.

The man didn't look at her as he continued to launch arrows at the enemy Servant, keeping him pinned, "Take that idiot and Illya back down the road. Rider and Lancer are coming up behind me. We'll hold them off while you get away."

Saber nodded, not wanting to waste any time with Shirou in critical condition. Illyasviel gave a cry of protest as Saber gently lifted Shirou from her care, but she thought his strained breathing was relieved a little bit as she brought him into her arms. She nodded to Illyasviel, who looked up at her with watery eyes.

"Hurry." The little girl whispered pleadingly, and Saber nodded.

"Of course."

She dashed away with the wind erupting beneath her feet, streaking past Archer to head down the darkened road to the Temple, Shirou shaking in her arms as the poison took hold. Archer advanced until Illyasviel was at his side, and he placed himself before her as he continued to launch arrows at Rider, who seemed furious that he couldn't advance under the onslaught. Illyasviel looked across the road to the forest's side, and felt a rise of anger as she thought of what they'd done to Shirou. She was the only one allowed to kill him, and she hadn't quite made up her mind about him yet. She grimaced, and Berserker roared in response from where he continued to engage Lancer and the enemy's Archer in furious battle. The enemy's Saber joined Rider, and Archer abandoned his bow to summon his twin blades as the two Servants advanced, unable to target both of them at this range.

"I would stand back." He drily remarked to Illyasviel, and she nodded as she allowed him to move forward.

Archer turned his cold eyes to the two Servants, his grip tightening around the handles of his blades. Then he darted forward to meet the enemy, keeping them an effective distance away from Illyasivel as he traded blows with the Servants. Their blades clashed together furiously, and he played it safe, only really engaging them whenever they moved too close to Illyasviel. He was only buying time until Lancer and Rider arrived after all. Berserker roared again from across the clearing, and Archer allowed himself a small smile. At least after so many days of damn waiting, this Holy Grail War had finally truly begun. Maybe if he was lucky his younger self would die tonight, and he could finally obtain his most fervent wish. With that thought lightening his mood, he smirked challengingly at the enemy before launching himself at them with new earnest once more, their battle ringing into the night.

**A/N: So hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. We got our first big brawl between the two factions, as well as a Saber/Gawain and Archer/Kuro confrontation. I know there's not a lot of Hakuno in this chapter, and there won't be much in the next one either, but he can't really enter the conflict until he has enough Servants to oppose the others. Some of you might ask why the Blue Masters wouldn't enter the fight, but remember that they couldn't do much against the Saber class with its Magic Resistance, and I don't they would willingly put themselves in Berserker's line of fire. That said, with reinforcements coming from the Red Faction and Caster/Assassin headed to the scene for the Blue Faction as well next chapter, they might be drawn out a little. So Illya and Shirou are beginning to build their brother-sister bond, and next chapter Shirou and co. will see the first effects Avalon will have on him in this story. I'm not sure when that next chapter will come out though, since finals are starting and I have to study, so I tried to get this one out fast. Please review, as I'm really curious to know what you guys think about the first big fight scene. The battle's not over too, and will continue next chapter. Thanks for reading, as always.**

**New Characters List:**

**Blue Faction:**

**Master: Beatrice Flowerchild**

** Servant: Lancer (Elizabeth Bathory) (Fate/Extra CCC character)**

**Master: Julius Harway**

** Servant: Assassin (Li Shuwen) (Fate/Extra character)**

** Servant: Archer (Robin Hood) (Fate/Extra character)**


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

Kirei Kotomine narrowed his eyes at the imposing mansion in the distance. It loomed ominously above him, but he couldn't proceed down the long empty driveway without being spotted. He doubted he'd be able to get past the gates and inevitable Bounded Fields without a struggle anyway. He was here to solely observe, and did not wish to attract any attention. It was rare for the priest to leave his church, and especially at night during such a critical time such as the Great Holy Grail War. He was not yet ready to reveal himself, but something incredibly dark had brought him here.

It made his black heart dance, and squirm with desire as he imagined the terrible atrocity that had drawn him to this place. What horrors had been so great that they had drawn him out of his sanctuary halfway across the city to here? It took all of his self-control to not hurl himself forward and search ravenously for that darkness so that he might partake in its sins, a rare thing for the usually impassionate man. His curiosity had already been piqued, but for him to discover that this was the Blue Faction's headquarters came as an even bigger surprise. The amount of Bounded Fields and protection meant that it could be nothing else but a stronghold for the enemy. He would have Lancer share this with the others at his leisure, but for now he merely cursed himself for being a Red Master, and not Blue. If only Bazzet had possessed the enemy's Command Seals. He imagined what terrible people they must be, to dwell with such darkness at home, and he envied them all. His hands tightened into fists at his side, and he gazed at the mansion with longing.

"Do you feel it," he whispered reverently to the air beside him, "King of Heroes?"

The air shimmered and Gilgamesh appeared as he gazed distastefully ahead, "Indeed Kirei, through my connection to that foul heart given to you by the Grail. If it is dark enough to draw you out of your hole, perhaps it might become of interest to me. I doubt it, however."

"It's recent," Kirei continued in a wondering tone, "I'm sure of it. It started tonight, or else I would have felt it earlier."

Gilgamesh crossed his arms, "Yes, it does reek of freshly spilled blood, a foul stench surely."

"It's beautiful."

Gilgamesh glanced over at Kirei amusedly, "I have rarely seen you so excited, Kirei. Not since you first realized the Emiya boy was participating in this War. I am surprised you can restrain yourself here. Do you wish me to bring you to this dark power? I only sense a single Servant nearby."

Kirei breathed heavily, "No, my King. You are too generous. I would rather let it fester, and grow into something magnificent.

Gilgamesh nodded slowly, "Perhaps. I am still yet uncertain whether I will permit it to reside in my garden. "

"I am sure," Kirei replied as he stared hungrily at the compound, "that if you give it but a single chance, you will not be disappointed in the entertainment it brings, King of Heroes."

* * *

><p>Archer dashed backwards as Blue Saber hurled his sword down in a wide arc, the ground cracking where it landed. He landed lightly on his feet and spun Kanshou to deflect Blue Rider's halberd, and darted forward with Bakuya, forcing Saber to quickly raise his blade in a parry. He ducked under a sweep of Rider's spear, and flipped into the air to gain distance. Time seemed to freeze for him as the two Servants stared up at him, and he felt the swords in his hands merge together as he projected Berserker's massive club. Their eyes widened, and he fell down with the sword, breaking the earth beneath them as they dodged to the side. Blue Rider darted forward as soon as he landed, and Archer smirked as he broke the sword, causing it to discharge with prana, and flipped away just as the resulting explosion blew Rider back twenty feet. Blue Saber came after him grimly as soon as he landed, and he quickly projected his blades once more.<p>

The Blue Servant of the Sword grunted as Archer parried his blade and pushed back with an onslaught of attacks on his own. Archer would normally be more reserved in such close combat, but with Saber already wounded and the enemy Rider momentarily disposed of, he entered an even more reckless style. He attacked relentlessly, not even giving Saber a chance to do anything more than defend himself. It was all the Blue Servant could do to block each blow, and he felt the gash in his shoulder tearing as he began to slow. He disengaged the first chance he got, darting back away from Archer the moment he was able to finally obtain a firm stance.

He levelled his sword at Archer, who idly watched him, and narrowed his eyes, "Who are you? I know of no Archer who wields twin blades."

"You should have paid more attention in history class then," Archer grunted, "Besides, doesn't part of your code of chivalry require that you identify yourself as well?"

Saber stiffened, and then nodded, "I am Gawain, Knight of the-"

He broke off, startled, as Archer launched himself forward to take advantage of his moment of distraction. He would have been sliced open by Archer's horizontal strike, had his ingrained instincts acquired from countless hours of training warned him to raise his sword just in time. He growled as he once again withstood Archer's attacks, and furiously shoved the red Servant back.

"Have you no honor?" He roared, "You would defile this duel with trickery? And you call yourself a hero?"

Archer parried the blow as Gawain reengaged him, and he quickly spun his blades to bring them about down on the enemy Servant's shoulders, "Honor doesn't win battles. And I never said I was a hero. I'm not even a champion of justice anymore."

"Justice?" Saber growled as he twisted to the side and brought his sword in with an uppercut strike, "You are an insult to my chivalry, that which is the code that protects the people and their justice!"

"Wrong," Archer narrowed his eyes as he rolled to the side, "Your ideals blind you to what must be done to save people."

"If you fail in your honor," Saber replied as he swung his sword in a wide arc to catch the evading Servant, "then you have lost your soul in your quest to save others!"

"Then it's clear what you're not willing to sacrifice." Archer growled, accompany his words with a darting strike that would sear across Saber's forearm. Gawain raised his blade to parry the attack, and Archer flipped back as he hurled Kanshou towards his foe. Saber tilted his head to the side as the blade breezed past, slicing off thin golden hairs, and then rushed forward. Archer parried each blow with Bakuya, waiting for the right moment. The swords were twin blades, and would always return to one another. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the sword begin to spiral back and then grunted as he forced Saber back and then hurled his remaining weapon. Saber easily deflected the sword thrown at him, shattering it, but was unprepared for the blade that pierced through the tendons in his left leg and caused him to fall to his knees as it came spiraling back to Archer's hand. It was pure luck that had saved both his legs from being taken off, having shifted his stance as he was forced back by Archer's blows. Archer looked down at him distastefully as he projected Bakuya again and moved forward.

He paused when Blue Rider jumped over Saber's prone form, hurling his spear. Archer dashed back, and Rider picked up his spear from it had impaled the ground in a small crater and darted it towards Archer's side, who deflected it with sparks leaping from his blades. Rider growled and a furious light enveloped his eyes as he resumed his attack. Archer continued to parry all of Rider's blows past him as he attempted to get inside Rider's guard, but Rider's enraged onslaught left little chance to do more than predict where the next blow would land.

"You dare to draw _my_ blood?" Rider screamed at him as he advanced.

Archer smirked as he ducked underneath Rider's swing, "That is what you do in a fight, you know. Or are you unexperienced in those?"

Rider growled as he quickly drew back his weapon to block Archer's jab with his halberd's wooden shaft, the blades leaving a nick in the handle, "_Inexperienced_? I have conquered countless fiefs and overcome countless enemies!"

Archer spun his blades as he dashed to the side, "Countless, huh? I guess it must be very difficult for you to count past two after all."

Rider screamed in fury as he dashed forward, relentlessly pushing Archer back. The Red Servant's grin faltered and his face hardened as he focused entirely on the enemy's enraged attack. He hurriedly projected each blade over as they broke in his hands, and Rider's eyes continued to fill with battlelust. Archer immediately took the first chance he had as he jumped over Rider's sweeping blow, and his armored boots connected with the Blue Servant's face as he pushed off him to flip away. Rider reeled back, and Archer quickly dashed back to Illya's side, where she had been watching the duel. Rider turned to Archer with a venomous look, blood streaming from his nose, but his advance paused as both Servants turned to look as they heard Berserker roar in a fury.

Blood swelled from leaking wounds carved into the monster's chest, Blue Lancer continually darting around him. Illya's eyes were drawn to the enemy Archer, who stood at a distance with a brilliant arrow glowing green in his bow, aimed at her Servant. Power flowed around him, rippling his cloak and hair, and before she could react he opened his eyes and shouted as he released his Noble Phantasm. The arrow darted into Berserker's chest, forcing him back as it quivered to a stop deep inside his heart. It pulsed a sickly color, and Berserker's red veins, before streaming with power, took on pale green shade as the poison spread throughout his body. The Red Servant roared and attempted to move forward, but staggered to a knee. Illya grimaced, and as she watched Berserker's skin began to crumble, turning into powdered dust that slowly began to blow away in the wind. The decay continued, revealing Berserker's bones, before they too crumbled. Berserker's roars of defiance continued until he fell only to heavily labored breathing as he slowly disintegrated, leaving only a pile of ash.

Rider grinned as he turned to Archer and Illya, "Now you shall surely fall, little girl."

Illya frowned as Blue Archer and Blue Lancer paused for a moment, no doubt only recovering their strength to help come finish her off. Gawain also struggled to his feet behind Blue Rider, his eyes determined. There was no way they could know about Berserker's Noble Phantasm, but she didn't know too much either. She wasn't panicking, but she hadn't ever seen it in action before. She wasn't sure Berserker would return in time to save her if all four Blue Servants came at her at once, and Archer could only hold off so many at a time. The red Servant placed himself protectively in front of her regardless. Despite his earlier words, there was still no sign of Red Lancer or Rider, and she wondered what was going through his head in the seemingly hopeless situation. The Red Servant sighed as he stood before her, looking back at her over his shoulder, and his next words shocked her.

"How long till he revives?"

"What?" She gasped, "How could you know-"

"How long?" He repeated, interrupting her.

"Only-only a minute or so, probably. He's never died before, so I'm not sure." She stuttered.

He nodded and began to walk forward, "Easy enough then."

Rider laughed at the advancing Red Servant, "You truly hope to stand against all of us?"

Archer ignored him and planted his feet as he narrowed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and then extended his arm slowly, speaking in a low voice.

"_I am the bone of my sword_."

Both Illya and the enemy Blue Servants felt a chill at the words, and watched him carefully. A brilliant light shone behind Archer, and a steel sword suddenly burst into existence floating above Archer's shoulder, blade aimed at the sky. Illya thought it was beautiful, slowly rotating just to the side of Archer's head, glittering with the unique sheen of pure steel. It captivated her, something so beautiful and yet so dangerous suddenly called into being by the Red Servant. Another soon joined it, and then several more. Illya's, and the Blue Servants', eyes widened as hundreds of swords appeared in the air around Archer, all directed to the moon shining brightly above the battlefield, the blades all glowing with the same pale blue light. Blue Rider and Saber shifted their guard uneasily, and Blue Archer and Lancer took several steps back in the distance. The red Archer smirked, and then the swords all angled towards the enemy in a single movement and rushed forward, glittering in the moonlight as countless more were projected to follow them. They blocked out the sky, a rain of death sentencing the enemy into oblivion. Rider started forward with a small grunt and raised his halberd, but before he could begin defending himself he vanished in a flash of blue light, his Master obviously using a Command Seal to save him from his fate and teleport him to their side. Gawain twirled his sword about him, desperately attempting to divert each blade aimed for his heart. Blue Lancer did the same, spinning her spear, but couldn't evade all the blades, red gashes appearing on her exposed arms and skirt, one even slicing her cheek. The other Archer simply ran, attempting to reach the cover of the forest. A spiraled blade skewered his leg however, forcing him to fall to the floor, and another would have pierced his heart had a purple magical barrier not appeared above him.

Archer narrowed his eyes at the newly appeared Blue Caster who stood at the forest's edge, his hands outstretched as multiple other magical barriers appeared before the enemy Servants to shield them. A blonde woman in battle armor stood next to him, her eyes glowing a brilliant red and her skin inscribed with multiple purple-glowing runes and tattoos. The blades began to crack the magical shields, but the blue-haired boy grit his teeth and poured in more prana, sustaining them a little longer against the onslaught.

"That's pretty cool."

Archer turned to find Red Lancer leaning on his spear beside Illya as he watched him fire the countless blades, Red Rider holding her chains at her side.

"Took you long enough." He grunted, returning his attention to the enemy as he lowered his hand and the stream of swords stopped.

"At least we're here." Lancer grinned as he spun his weapon and entered a battle stance.

"Remember," Rider remarked as she too moved forward, "We are here only to escort Lady Einzbern back safely and divert their attention so that they cannot follow her home, and then escape unseen ourselves."

"Buzzkill." Lancer grunted, but was cut off as a groan came from their side.

The mound of ash shifted, forming itself into a man as Berserker growled and rose before the enemy's astonished eyes. Red Lancer and Rider too eyed the monster with shock, amazed at his recovery as he roared defiance and moved to Illya's side.

Lancer looked up at his now flawless skin and let out a low whistle, "Now that's another cool trick."

"Focus, Lancer." Rider murmured, crouching as she laid her chains about the ground around her.

"Illya," Archer said, looking over his shoulder at the shocked girl who was still staring at him in awe, "Get out of here. Now."

Her expression changed and she looked at him furiously for a moment. She wanted to stay, and crush everyone here who had hurt Shirou, have Berserker rip them to shreds and hang what was left of their corpses from the Fuyuki Bridge. But they were right. They were outnumbered, Berserker had lost a life, and Archer was no doubt exhausted after holding off two Servants and then releasing an attack like that. It made the most sense to retreat. Besides, this way she could go back and make sure that red-headed idiot was okay. She turned away in a huff and began to walk back down the road, commanding her Servant to her side.

"Berserker."

The Red Servant growled wordlessly and bent down with surprising tenderness to cradle her in his arms, and then bounded forward into the night as he ran her back to the temple. The remaining three Red Servants prepared themselves for battle, and Archer smirked as he saw Blue Rider burst back onto the battlefield atop his warhorse again, obviously furious at having been removed by his Master earlier. He was so focused on the enemy that he failed to detect the invisible Blue Assassin, who slipped by the three and continued down the road after Illya, following them to their destination.

"Dibs on the big guy!" Red Lancer screamed and dashed forward, immediately moving to engage Rider.

Despite being exhausted and nearly ready to keel over, Archer grunted and summoned his bow as he turned to Rider, taking aim at the retreating Gawain, "Go help Lancer."

She nodded and dashed forward, hurling her chains forward at the enemy. Blue Rider nimbly danced his warhorse away from the blow, and Red Rider's attention was soon drawn to the woman covered in tattoos that darted forward with incredible speed, her fist flying towards Rider's stomach. Re Rider quickly flipped away, and the woman's blow left a small crater in the earth. Archer narrowed his eyes. While the woman clearly wasn't a Servant, or a Master judging by the absence of Command Seals, she was clearly being fortified by Blue Caster. He drew back an arrow in his bow to aim at the small boy, but the Servant blocked it by sending a pulse of magic flying from his hand that sent it skidding to the side mid-flight. Gawain and the Blue Archer had both dispelled into spirit form, and as he watched the enemy's Lancer soon rejoined the fight. They had to get away quickly or else this would result in casualties. Archer grimaced as he drew back on his bow, taking aim once more.

* * *

><p>Saber dashed forward, winding blasting from her feet with each step, Shirou held securely in her arms as she rushed down the road. The Temple's mountain loomed ahead, and she added a burst of speed as her goal came in sight. Shirou still looked sickly, shivering and pale, and his arm still bled. She needed to hurry. She couldn't let him die. Not only because he was her Master, or because of her honor as a knight of whom had been entrusted with his charge, but because she cared for him. She wasn't sure what he was to her just yet, but he was certainly at least a comrade in arms and a treasured friend. And she would not let him die.<p>

Her throat tightened both with fear for her Master, and the pain of memories past. She had failed in this task before, in the Fourth Holy Grail War. She had been ordered _with a Command Seal_ to rescue Irisviel, and she had still failed. It had not been for a lack of effort. She had wanted to save the woman from the bottom of her heart, the Command Seal only amplifying her already sound ambitions. She had moved with all of her ability, as fast as she ever could have. But she still failed. And Irisviel had died.

She would not let the same happen to Shirou. She held him tightly and blasted up the steps to Ryuudou Temple. Assassin held guard ahead, and wordlessly stood to the side as she rushed into the compound, immediately making for the building the Red Faction had deemed their operations headquarters.

She burst past the door, cradling Shirou as she looked upon their shocked faces, "Caster! Shirou needs help!"

The woman rose smoothly, her Master Souichirou Kuzuki standing behind her, and calmly directed Saber, "Lay him on the table there. What happened?"

Saber tenderly laid him down, and clenched one of his hands as she stared at the sickly wound in his arm, "Poison from the enemy's Archer. I don't think it was his full Noble Phantasm though."

Rin spoke up as she shakily moved towards the crowd, "An Archer that uses poison? That doesn't sound like one of the three legendary knight classes. Are sure it wasn't Assassin?"

Saber growled as she focused on Shirou's strained face, "He spits upon honor, truly. But it was Blue Archer, without a doubt."

Caster examined the arrow for a moment, before breaking the edge and sliding the shaft out of Shirou's arm. He grimaced unconsciously, gasping, and Saber pressed here hands against his worriedly, but Caster paid him no mind. She held the arrow in front of her quizzically, examining it as she ignored the writhing boy beneath her.

"Caster!" Saber growled, "Ignore the arrow and help Shirou!"

She waved a hand as she held the projectile up in the light, studying it as it slowly began to disperse into particles, "The boy will be fine. There's already some source of incredibly powerful healing magic inside of him. This arrow was simply preventing it from working, so I removed it."

Saber looked down at Shirou worriedly, "Then why is he still thrashing?"

Caster grinned as she glanced down at the boy, "Oh, it will be incredibly painful of course for his healing magic to remove the poison from his body. That part can't be helped."

Saber laid a hand on his forehead, wiping away the sweat, "But he'll be fine?"

"Of course," Caster replied as she moved back to her Master, "I was more interested in that arrow. Perhaps I will be able to use this information to discern Archer's identity."

"You have my thanks for saving Shirou, then," Saber said softly.

Caster merely nodded as she sat back down, "We are teammates, after all. For now."

Saber let the ominous threat slide and instead gently lifted Shirou into her arms, "He just needs rest then?"

When Caster nodded, Saber turned and moved to the door, "I am taking him to our room then."

"Hold up," Shinji called out, "You should go back and help the other Servants out. It's unfair if you just sit here while my Rider does all the work."

Saber glared at the boy, "I will remain with my Master."

Rin sighed as she moved to pour herself a glass of water, "Just let it go before she hurts you, Shinji. Our Servants are supposed to be retreating back here anyways as soon as that Einzbern brat escapes."

Shinji grunted and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair, but Saber ignored them all as she left the room and carried Shirou down the wooden hallways until she reached their room. She tenderly laid him down on his futon and covered him with a light sheet, and then folded her legs as she waited patiently by his side. He would be fine, she reassured herself. She had not failed in her task this night. Perhaps it was because she was already more motivated to protect her Master than she had ever felt while under Kiritsugu's command. She marveled again at the differences between the two men, and swore to protect him like she had not been able to with Irisviel. And she would continue to protect him from this moment on, refusing to fail as she had in the Fourth War. But for now, she would wait by his side until he woke.

* * *

><p>Hakuno sat glumly on one of the couches in their penthouse, Ruler across from him. He sighed and looked out the window over the city, wishing he could form a telepathic connection with Kuro. But it was common knowledge that it was incredibly difficult if the Servant couldn't enter spirit form, and he hadn't even assimilated with Kuro enough yet for such a bond. He hoped she was okay. He knew she was a Heroic Spirit, but a part of him couldn't see past the brash and brazen little girl. And that wasn't all that was troubling him. He sighed again, raising a hand to his chin.<p>

"Are you troubled, Master?" Ruler asked him, eyeing him with concern.

"Just worried, that's all."

"I am sure Archer will be fine. She seems very capable."

"Yeah. It's just that and other stuff."

"Other stuff?" Ruler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hakuno grunted, "Don't worry about it."

Ruler scowled, and she shocked him when she moved very close to him to stare at him in the eyes, pressing up to him as she sat beside him and addressed him by name, "Hakuno. Tell me."

"Yeah, alright," he mumbled sheepishly, his face red as he put a little distance between them, "I'm just thinking about stuff with being a Master."

Ruler sat back, "Go on."

"I mean," Hakuno began, "I've been given this incredible chance to participate in this War in the first place. And not only that, but I got to summon you. I thought I'd studied up on this enough, and I know all the mechanics of the War, but I can't help but feel like I'm not ready for this, or even worthy. I know the Grail picked me, but I'm kind of a failure as your Master. I was all excited when we were heading out tonight, but as soon as an actual battle started I was paralyzed. I couldn't do anything. I have all this incredible potential with my magic circuits, but I can't do anything to actually help you. I can't protect any of you. I'm just a walking power battery, like with the Harways all over again."

Ruler stiffly folded her hands in her lap, "A less rational woman would've slapped you for what you just said."

Hakuno flinched, and she continued, "True, it is deemed that a man should protect women. But we are your Servants. We are the ones meant to fight, and you are the one who must be protected. You should see me as your Servant before a woman."

Hakuno grimaced, "That's kind of hard to do. And it's not like I doubt your ability or anything. You were incredible when you saved me. I just feel like I'm more of a burden than a benefit. I'm just frustrated I haven't found a way to help more yet."

Ruler softened at his words, "We all feel inadequate at times. But trust that the Lord has a plan for you. It might not be grand, but you have a purpose that only you can fulfill. And I promise you that you do matter. At the very least, you matter to me."

They both felt heat rising to their cheeks at the last exchange, but Hakuno nodded gratefully, "Yeah. I just want to find a way to help. If only I could summon a Caster, maybe they could teach me more about magic."

"Perhaps," Ruler nodded.

Hakuno paused, and turned to her, "You still believe in him then? God, I mean. Even after everything that happened to you in the end?"

Ruler nodded and solemnly raised a hand to her heart, "Yes, I had regrets in my past life, but he was always there. He still is."

Hakuno stared at the table before him, thinking, "Is that part of your wish then? To change something about your past life?"

Ruler frowned, "Perhaps. I'm conflicted. What of your wish?"

Hakuno gave a sheepish smile, "It's probably not really grand like yours. I just want to know about my past. I lost most of my memory. I don't know how. I just woke up on the streets one day, just remembering my first name. Then Julius took me in. The only reason I have my last name is I chose it, since I don't want to be associated with the Harways."

"Are you conflicted about facing them in this war?"

He shook his head, "They're not exactly good people. They have an extremely misguided view about people's place in this world. I never really considered them family. That's why I want to find my real one."

Ruler paused, "You don't remember them at all?"

Hakuno grinned ruefully, "I used to get flashes sometimes. Not really anymore. I don't think I got along too well with my dad. I never got any flashes of my mother. But I think I had a sister. I'm pretty sure I was happy when I was with her. I cherish those flashes of memory I have, above anything else really."

"I understand," Ruler murmured, clutching a hand to her chest, "You want to protect what's important to you."

They smiled at each other, and Hakuno again marveled at the beauty of his Servant. She started to blush lightly as he examined her, and his face lit up once he realized he was obviously goggling her. He was about to apologize when the door suddenly burst open and Kuro came striding in with a wide grin.

"D'aaawwwww! Were we having a moment?"

Hakuno jumped up, waving his hands, "What, no! We were just talking!"

Kuro grinned as she placed her hands on her hips, "Just talking, he says. Onii-chan, you womanizer."

Hakuno sputtered, but Ruler calmly rose without any trace of red in her cheeks and faced Kuro, "Archer. What do you have to report."

Kuro sighed, as she laid on the couch and propped her feet up on the table, crossing her arms behind her head, "First, somebody order me some room-service. I'm starving."

"R-right," Hakuno mumbled, slowly recovering from his embarrassment, "I'm glad you're okay."

Kuro grinned up at him widely, "It'll take a lot more than that to kill me. But I'm glad you said so."

Ruler faced her seriously, "Did you defeat the enemy?"

Kuro narrowed her eyes, "No, we drew a truce of sorts actually. Sit down. Food can wait for a bit. We've got a lot to talk about."

* * *

><p>Shirou woke slowly, eyes blinking sleepily as he slowly roused himself into the waking world. He was initially confused to see the ceiling of his room in Ryuudou Temple above him, and wondered why he wasn't home. Then he remembered the Holy Grail War and the battle, and began to panic. He needed to find Illyasviel and Saber, and make sure they were okay. He bolted up in his bed, stifling a cry of pain as his arm pulsed with agony. He looked down to see bandages covering a sickly red scar on his arm, the wound having been cleaned and dressed by someone. He was also calmed to see Illyasviel's small head resting in his lap from where she had fallen asleep and Saber smiling warmly at his side.<p>

"Hey," he smiled weakly.

"Shirou," Saber nodded, her voice oddly choked with some kind of emotion, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Is everyone else alright?" he asked immediately, still concerned.

"Yes they're all fine. Everyone returned safely. There were no casualties on either side, although Berserker apparently lost a life."

Shirou frowned and was about to ask what she meant, when Illyasviel stirred beneath him. He smiled as she sleepily raised her head and wiped her eyes, her hair in disarray. Her eyes widened and began to water when she saw him, and a furious look entered her face as she glared at him.

"You idiot!" She hissed, "What were you thinking, putting yourself in front of an attack from a Servant like that?"

Shirou blinked, not understanding why she was mad, "I couldn't let them hurt you, obviously."

She froze and lowered her head, all her anger disappearing as she clutched his bedsheets in shaking little fists. Shirou leaned forward worriedly, concerned about her reaction.

"Illyasviel?"

"Illya," she sniffed as she looked up at him and rubbed her nose, "I want you to call me Illya."

Shirou paused and then smiled, "Okay. I like the sound of that better anyways."

Illya gave him a watery smile, and Saber felt a warmth in her heart as she watched the two. Illyasviel looked so much like Irisviel, and she wondered if they were related somehow. She couldn't ask without revealing her involvement in the Fourth War, that would make her Shirou's sister of a sorts. She smiled as she continued to watch them. She had protected this innocence, and this warmth. For tonight at least, the two of them were safe.

* * *

><p>Luvia waited beside Leo as Julius closed his eyes, silently conversing with Assassin. Rider roared furiously about the Red Archer and Lancer in her head, also at times cursing her for using a Command Seal to save him, but she ignored him. He certainly would have died in that attack otherwise. She immediately directed her attention to Julius when he opened his eyes, and she already knew the answer when he looked at Leo in triumph.<p>

"It's confirmed. Assassin followed them and got away undetected. We now know the location of the Red Faction's headquarters. We must prepare a surprise assault on Ryuudou Temple."

**A/N2: Minor update clarifying some of the Servants' faction allegiance, since enough people said it was hard at times to follow who was who in big battles like this. I'll try to remember that in the future. I also replaced EMIYA with Hakuno on the characters for the story preview, since they finally added him to the character sheet.**

**A/N: So finals are over, but I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, so it'll probably be another little while before the next chapter. I wanted to get this one out again before I left though, so sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'll fix them when I get back if there are any. So here we get some foreshadowing and lots of little hints, as well as the first steps to Shirou and Illya's sibling relationship. A bit more examination of how Saber is being affected by the Fourth Holy Grail War, and a little more about Hakuno's past and ambitions. Poor kid needs to hurry up and summon Tamamo. And then the Blue Faction discovered Ryuudou Temple, so that's probably not good. And Julian was definitely up to something while they were all away, which is what Kirei and Gilgamesh sensed. So leave a review and tell me what you guys think. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think, and the reviews are always motivating. Thanks for reading, and have a great Christmas.**

**New Characters List:**

**Blue Faction:**

**Master: Erika Ainsworth (Fate/Kaleid Liner character)**

**Servant: Caster (Hans Christain Anderson) (Fate/Extra CCC character)**


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

Shirou grunted as he slid back several feet, watching his hands shake as held the wooden kendo sword defensively ahead of him. Saber narrowed her eyes before him, and he took a deep breath as he steadied himself and calming his shaking hands. The sword in his grip steadied, and Saber gave a single approving nod. Then she launched herself forward with a short yell and Shirou was hurriedly raising his blade to parry aside blow after blow. He backpedaled, but it was hard to focus on where to plant his feet to gain distance when he was entirely concentrated on diverting each blow from his opponent. She was simply too fast for him, and all of his mental power was directed towards just barely registering where to move his blade defensively, leaving no room for any kind of offensive assault. It was only a matter of time before his blade couldn't keep up with hers, and he moved too slow to block her sword as it slipped past his defenses and rocketed into his ribcage, stopping to hover for an instant. Shirou froze, and Saber gave him an apologizing smile as she lightly tapped him with the wooden blade, signifying the end of yet another unsuccessful bout for him.

"You lose again, Shirou." She told him.

Shirou sighed and lowered his blade, "For a little while there I thought I might be able to keep up with you, but you're crazy fast, Saber."

"He who strikes first wins," Saber replied with a grateful smile, quoting a saying she'd often heard in her time.

Shirou was about to reply when he was cut off by a loud call from the Japanese-style lounge to the side of the courtyard.

"Come on, Onii-chan! Try again! And beat her this time!"

Shirou sighed and looked over apologetically at the small Master of Berserker who had stood watching their past several duels alongside Rin, "I'm sorry, Illya. I'll try to get her next time. But maybe we can get a break first?"

Saber and Rin nodded, but Illya narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Five minutes."

"Ten?" Shirou asked back hopefully.

She shook her snow-colored hair stubbornly, "Five. And you better win next time. I can't have my Onii-chan losing to anyone."

Shirou smiled sheepishly as he walked over onto the porch, resting his practice sword against the railing and gratefully accepting a bottle of water of Rin, "Right, sorry."

Rin looked him over as Saber joined them, "Well, I do have to say that you look like you've improved ever since you started this farce. I still think it's rather pointless though. What are you going to do with a glorified stick against a mage or a Heroic Spirit?"

Shirou frowned at her. Ever since he'd recovered from his wounds from two days ago, he'd dedicated himself to a strict training regimen to transform himself into a proper Master for this Holy Grail War. He'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't let anyone down, so he'd sought out both Saber and Illya for training. He'd asked Illya for help with magical training, and her lessons had left him completely exhausted in both mind and spirit. He was only just becoming used to the physical strain that came from using his true Magic Circuits for the first time in his life. He flinched unconsciously as he remembered when he'd demonstrated to Illya how he practiced his Reinforcement magic.

They'd been sitting together alone in one of the monks' meditation rooms, various household items for him to practice on spread out on the floor in front of them. He'd placed his hand on a simple kitchen knife, intoning his familiar aria, and then creating his circuits. He'd only just begun to feel that familiar sensation of a burning rod being inserted into his spine when Illya had tackled him in a blind panic.

"Stop!" She'd cried out immediately, clutching his sleeves as she shook with fear, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're going to kill yourself!"

Shirou had only blinked back at her in confusion, not understanding why she seemed to be so afraid for him, "What do you mean? This is always how I practice my Reinforcement Magic."

She'd froze then, her grip on his sleeves loosening as her hands fell to the floor and her watery eyes had widened as she stared at him, "You've always turned your nerves into Magic Circuits whenever you use magic?

He nodded, still confused, "Of course."

A furious red blush entered her cheeks then, and he'd unconsciously prepared himself for her onslaught. He recognized a temper tantrum when he saw one.

She leaned over and whacked him on the head with her fist, her voice rising furiously, "You idiot! Of course that's not how you do it! That's suicidal! You get me so scared for your life after you try that _once_, and then you tell me _you've done that your whole life_! You idiot! Using your nerves like that could kill if you mess up even once! And you've been doing this your entire life? You idiot! Dummy! Scatterbrain! Meany-face!"

"Meany-face?" Shirou replied quietly, rubbing his head.

Illya's face got even redder with rage, "You dummy! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

Each insult was accompanied by another punch to his forehead, and despite Illya's small stature, those hurt. He was once again saved from a pounding headache that night thanks to the strange healing ability that he could only assume came from Saber. That isn't to say he escaped a mental headache however, only a physical one. Rin came in after hearing Illya shout so much, only to join in screaming at Shirou when she learned of what he'd done. They'd both gone on into the night, only finally stopping to start giving him proper lessons in magecraft the following day. They'd shown Shirou how to activate his proper Magic Circuits and had reminded him non-stop to never again to try to convert his nerves like he had been doing. The pain of activating his Magic Circuits for the first time in his life had been immense of course, but he'd endured it, knowing that he had to get stronger so that he could protect everyone. Illya seemed to think that his Circuits were finally stabilizing, and while she and Rin were both tough teachers, he couldn't help but admit that he'd jumped bounds in his magical knowledge over the past two days.

But before they'd calmed down enough to actually teach him, he'd gone to Saber to ask for training with the sword to escape their rage. She had happily acquiesced, and their daily practice sessions had continued today. Saber too, was a grueling teacher, but she motivated him with soft words of encouragement. She claimed he was a natural, but Shirou was still frustrated by his lack of progress as opposed to his magecraft. He couldn't help but feel that each time he took up the sword something was missing.

He was drawn out of his reverie as Saber came to his defense, "Shirou has improved drastically since he first began. These skills might mean the difference between his life and death, should the day ever come when I cannot protect him."

"Well what's he going to do against an Archer Servant, or a Caster? Swing his sword around while he gets turned into a pincushion or melted to a crisp? And do you really think he'd be able to stand up against an enemy Saber, or a Berserker?" Rin replied.

Saber stiffened, "I am not teaching him so that he can attack the enemy, but so that he can defend himself long enough for one of our Servants to come to his aid."

Rin sighed and directed her gaze to Shirou, "Look, I just don't want you getting the idea in your head that you can take on a Servant, and have you run out there and almost get yourself killed for no reason like you did the other night."

Illya glowered and dashed forward to latch herself onto Shirou's arm as she glared at Rin, "It wasn't for no reason! Shirou saved my life, you dummy!"

Rin growled, and Shirou placated Illya by resting his hand on her head. She looked up at him with wide eyes, listening as she spoke, "It's fine, Illya, really. I think Rin's just worried about me."

Rin sputtered and looked away while a red blush crept into her cheeks as she took on an uninterested manner, "I am not! I-I just think it would be poor judgment if I allowed one of my allies, and the Master of one of our most powerful Servants at that, to be killed off so easily and early in the War!"

"Oh," Shirou said, "Well, thanks anyway I guess."

Rin sighed and turned back to them, her blush fading as they moved off-topic, though Illya continued to glare at her. Before Shirou knew it, Saber was already leading him back to the middle of the courtyard, and he was raising his practice blade in a defensive position. He adjusted his footwork and took a deep breath as he gazed ahead.

Saber smiled at him from across the distance separating them, "Whenever you're ready, Shirou."

"Come on, Shirou!" "Beat her up, Onii-chan!" Came shouts of encouragement from the sidelines.

Shirou appreciated them, but he blocked them out as he focused his mind. Muttering his aria under his breath, he grunted as he snapped open all of his newly developed Magic Circuits. Prana began to flow into him, probably only a trickle to a master mage like Rin or Illya, but to him it seemed like a nearly uncontrollable flood. He wrestled it under control, and forced it into the sword he held before him. It glowed, quivering, and for a moment he thought he'd fail like he almost always used to when he was reinforcing things. But the spell held, and the glow sustained itself. He'd always had better luck with bladed objects anyway he reassured himself. He was about to end the flow of prana into his circuits when he was suddenly struck by an idea. He forced that power down into his legs and into his arms, strengthening them. They didn't glow, but he felt the energy take place and reinforce his body. It was surprisingly easy to apply his own magic to himself, as opposed to the sword before him. He readied himself, continued to feed prana into his body to strengthen his arms and legs, and then attacked.

He closed the distance between himself and Saber in two quick steps. She took a half-step back, perhaps surprised by the level of speed he had suddenly attained with the prana pumping through his legs. He quickly raised his arms with a yell, preparing a downward overhead strike. There was a loud crack as the blade came down, with Saber moving as fast as he'd only ever seen when she was protecting him. He froze, staring at the piece of splintered wood in Saber's hands. She'd reacted so fast, probably out of instinct, that she'd deflected his blow, but her blade had smashed to splinters against his Reinforced weapon in the process.

She smiled sheepishly at him, "I am sorry, Shirou. You surprised me, and I reacted instinctively. I did not know you were capable of that speed. You are to be commended for evoking such a reaction from me."

"No, it's fine," Shirou replied, slightly shaken, "I'll probably should have Reinforced your sword as well, so it's really my fault that it broke against my blade."

"Shirou," Rin called out hesitantly, "Did you by chance reinforce your own body just now?"

He nodded, mentally preparing himself for another scolding as he took in Shinji, who had apparently also stopped by to watch, "Yeah. Is that okay to do?"

Rin nodded slowly, "Theoretically, yes. I've never heard of anyone try it, since most consider Reinforcement such useless magecraft. It's just unusual, that's all."

"What she means," Shinji leered at them, "is that it's weird. That you're weird."

Illya and Rin both glared at him, and Shirou suppressed his own feelings of resentment. They were allies, after all, "Shinji. Have you come to train also?"

Shinji's eyes widened, and laughed for quite some time before he calmed himself, wiping his eyes of his mirth as he replied, "Me? Train? Why would I ever waste my time on something as pointless as that?"

Shirou was honestly puzzled, and he cocked his head to the side, "Don't you want to be able to protect everyone here?"

Shinji laughed again, "Oh God, no. The only one I have to look out for is myself. Besides, what's the point? We're all going to have to turn on one another eventually. I mean, you're lucky Rider and I are even cooperating with you all right now."

Rin growled, "Somehow I doubt you'd do much on your own beside hide in your dark hole without our help, facing the Blue Faction all on your own."

Shinji sighed dramatically and waved his hand as he moved away, "Of course I can't expect you to understand a true strategy, Tohsaka. All I have to do is help you lot kill the Blue Faction and Ruler, and then outlast you all, and the Grail will be mine. We'll see who's laughing then."

Saber gazed after his retreating figure distastefully, "He has little honor."

Shirou didn't reply, but instead gazed at Illya and Rin while they quietly conversed with one another. They were his teammates for now, but it was true that once Ruler and the Blue Faction were defeated, they would turn on one another. Shirou couldn't imagine facing either one of them, not after how he'd gotten to know them after the past several days. His hand tightened around his sword. Somehow, he swore he would protect them.

* * *

><p>Hakuno dreamed. But it was strange, in that it was not his dream. It was a past, but it wasn't his, and he didn't see any flashes of memory that recognized. Instead, he saw a beautiful girl on a farm, saw flashes of her kneeling before a cross, mounting up on horse while clothed in armor. He thought she was an angel, and he feared for her when he saw her ride into battle. He had final flashes of a courtyard filled with howling priests, and then an image of the girl in chains being lead to a massive bonfire. Before the dream could continue a gentle but firm touch woke him from his slumber. Hakuno blinked, drowsy as recognized his room in his hotel, before he was drawn to Assassin's golden eyes.<p>

"Master," the Servant intoned softly, "The Lady Ruler says the time has come."

Hakuno nodded and groggily swung himself out of bed, shaking his head to clear the images as the Servant moved to wait respectfully by the door. He was certain he had dreamed of Ruler's past, but he had no time to ponder over it, as one glance showed that night had fallen, and it was time to summon his next Servant. He'd been adapting to a nocturnal schedule for the War, and couldn't help but wish Assassin had allowed him just a little more time to sleep, although a part of him was glad the dream hadn't been able to continue to its gruesome end.

Assassin had been one of two Servants he'd summoned in the past two days, with their Command Seals forming interlocked rings around his wrists. A new set of gold Command Seals provided by Ruler to summon his fifth Servant were located traveling up his right forearm. He reflected on Assassin as he prepared himself for the night ahead. Without a catalyst, Hakuno's third Heroic Spirit had been Hassan-I-Sabbah, master of the dagger. Assassin was tall, darkly-tanned Arabic man, with a neatly trimmed black beard and sharp golden eyes. He'd already taken up the peculiar habit of only dressing in expensive Italian suits while in casual wear, and had already emptied Hakuno's supply of coffee, which he desperately needed to keep himself awake throughout the night. But he was surprisingly well mannered and loyal for an assassin, figures whom Hakuno had always thought of as cowardly and twisted creatures that attacked the innocent in the night. But Assassin claimed to be a man of honor, and Hakuno sensed the truth in his words. He was the first Servant with whom Hakuno had established a mental connection and the first who could enter spirit form, although he preferred to remain in the physical world. He gave Hakuno a small bow as he passed by him into the hallway leading to the main lounge, following silently after him.

Hakuno moved past the lounge and paused at the door to the kitchen, greeting Ruler, Kuro, and the other Servant he'd managed to summon. Caster, the Japanese hero Tamamo-no-mae, looked up at him with a wide smile and her fox tail twitched excitedly when she saw him. Dressed in a pink and white striped sweater, with short shorts and stockings, her fox ears perked up as she jumped up and proudly displayed her pink apron she was currently wearing. Like Assassin, she too could enter spirit form, but seemed to be the most dead-set out of all of his Servants on remaining materialized.

"Master!" She cried out, "We've been baking while you're asleep."

Hakuno smiled ruefully as Kuro proudly displayed a sheet of cookies, with Ruler smiling sheepishly beside her. The kitchen around them was completely in shambles, with equipment and cooking batter spilled everywhere. There was even a small fire that had somehow miraculously not triggered an alarm, which Kuro sheepishly put out when she saw him staring at it. He should have known Caster would do something like this, dragging the other two into it. She had a bubbly and infectious attitude, the first thing having done upon her summoning being to order Hakuno to take her shopping. He'd made her finally set up a proper Bounded Field around their floor first of course, but then she'd dragged them all to a clothing department store, despite having absolutely no idea where to go, having been never summoned to Fuyuki before. The trip had made Hakuno's wallet weep, as all of his Servants had bought a ridiculous amount of clothes, not even considering the fact that they were supposed to be fighting a secret war. Hakuno had heard the tales about women's shopping, but he never truly understood how terrifying it could be until that day. He'd hoped to hide it out with Assassin, but even the only other male had been fascinated with store's selection of expensive suits and formal wear. So Hakuno had been unwillingly forced by Caster and the others to buy the ridiculous amount of clothes and a pair of black jeans, shirt, and white jacket for himself that Caster had claimed "looked cute on him". Following that first antic, it came as no surprise that she'd nearly destroyed the kitchen in a quest to bake cookies.

Inside, his wallet was crying wailing tears over the damages he'd have to pay to repair, but he mustered a smile, "They smell wonderful."

Kuro darted forward with narrowed eyes and shoved a cookie into his open mouth, "Try one."

Hakuno nearly choked, but chewed carefully while Caster bounced up on down with excitement.

"Well?" The Servant squealed.

"They're really good." He confessed, and Ruler smiled in relief as Kuro and Caster high-fived, conveniently ignoring the wrecked kitchen behind them.

Caster's grin widened as she emptied the cookies into a basket and adjusted her apron, "I'm bringing these to greet our newest Servant!"

Ruler nodded, "Yes, Master, it is the opportune time for a summoning ritual. We should head there now. I sent Assassin to wake you."

Hakuno nodded, "Right. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting."

They all nodded and followed Hakuno into the now-familiar summoning room, with the magic circle still inscribed on the floor. Ruler stood protectively behind him to assist in the ritual, and the others stepped back to the walls so as not to interfere. Taking a deep breath as he positioned himself, he begun the ritual's chant. The Command Seals glowed, and felt a release of prana from Ruler behind him as the magic circle began to light up and wind pushed back his hair. Despite all of his experience, he could never get used to this feeling. Not just that of the prana running through his body, as he'd had Caster begin to give him lessons on magical training, but the feeling of knowing he was drawing a Heroic Spirit into the world. The Grail's system amazed him, and he was already looking forward to his new Servant. The wind picked up and smoke began to appear as Hakuno continued the verse. Without any kind of catalyst, he was simply trusting in the Grail to choose the best fit for him like it had done with all the others. Finishing the verse, he felt a massive amount of his prana drop away as he suddenly took on the burden of materializing yet another Servant, and both his Command Seals and the magic circle began to fade from their glow. But when the smoke cleared, Hakuno was shocked as he immediately felt the blood begin to rush to his face.

He first recognized sputtered gasps emanating from both Ruler and Assassin.

He then dimly heard Caster behind him, and could perfectly envision her jumping forward with the bakery basket as she called out, "We baked you cookies!"

He also heard Kuro muttering, "I totally should have thought of that. _That's_ fashion."

But he couldn't focus on either of them, as his gaze was entirely focused on his new Servant in front of him. She had emerald green eyes with gorgeous blond hair and a short stature, with very sizable assets for her height. It wasn't just her beauty that captivated him however, but rather her choice of dress. While he personally thought Ruler was still far more beautiful, he would admit perhaps only under the threat of death that this Servant's dress provoked many unholy thoughts. The entire front skirt of her ruby red gown as made of a pale see-through silk that exposed her smooth legs and white undergarments. She gazed at Hakuno proudly, addressing him with bearing of a king.

"Rejoice, Praetor, for you have summoned the greatest bard, artist, warrior, and Emperor of this world! I am your Saber Servant, and by my blade I shall protect you and introduce you to the wonders of my Empire!"

A certain part of Hakuno's brain was overjoyed that he'd managed to summon a Saber Servant. But most of it was still trying to process the situation as the blood continued to rush to his face in a fiery spread. As if in a trance, he meekly raised a hand.

"Saber?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, Praetor?" she asked with narrowed eyes, "What is your command? Speak. A general must be loud and clear to direct his troops."

"I can-uh" Hakuno stumbled, "I mean, we-I can-uh-see your…"

A light of understanding entered Saber's eyes as she smiled widely and gave a small twirl before posing in front of Hakuno, "Ah, you must be astounded by the beauty of a true artist such as myself."

"Well, uh," Hakuno mumbled, "that too. But I can see your-uh…"

"Ohhhh," Saber realized and then shook her head in a lecturing manner, "But, Praetor, there is a difference from people seeing them. I am _letting_ them see."

It was at this point that Hakuno's brain, understandably, shut down, and he found himself at a loss for words.

* * *

><p>Had any of the others kept their wits about them, once they left the confined room and entered the lounge, where they were all visible through the windows, perhaps they might have noticed a small familiar that observed them all, before flying off to report to its master. Far away, Kirei Kotomine raised his head from his prayers, processing this new information. Not only had he discovered Ruler's location, but this new Saber looked surprisingly similar to the one currently summoned by Shirou Emiya, the same Saber from the Fourth War, the one Gilgamesh coveted. Most interesting news, indeed.<p>

"King of Heroes," he announced, "I have news."

**A/N: So a short chapter, but a necessary one. I couldn't let Shirou keep running around without knowing anything, since he has no excuse now that he's surrounded by talented mages like Rin and Illya that have a reason to help him, so he's begun his magical training as of this chapter. I'll go a little more into Hakuno's magic training with Caster a little later, as it's a bit different. Speaking of that, I hope none of you are disappointed that I didn't write out the individual summoning for Assassin and Caster, but I feel like writing eight individual Servant summonings across eight chapters would get really tedious. Saber is summoned this chapter (It's Nero in case any of you couldn't figure that out) and Hakuno's total Servant count is up to five. I know some of you were hoping for a different Assassin, but seeing as how canonically it's always supposed to be Hassan-I-Sabbah, I felt like I had to have at least one of the three Assassins in this war be him. Sorry to everyone who was hoping Jack the Ripper would appear, but I do have some plans for Semiramis _way way way _down the line. And Jack might have a miniscule cameo, again _way _down the line. This Assassin is technically an OC I guess, but he'll pretty much be indistinguishable from True Assassin as far as combat goes, although he obviously has a different personality and Zabinya technique/Noble Phantasm. Next chapter we'll get the Blue Faction gearing up for their surprise attack, magic training for Hakuno, an angry Gilgamesh, and some daddy-issues for Illya. **

**Now all that said, I have to say that I'm absolutely crushed that I have to wait until April for the second half of Unlimited Blade Works, and would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how I can fill my time until then.**

**Anyways, review as always, I'd love to break 100, and they really do motivate me to get these chapters out and not abandon this story. And above all, thanks for reading and I hope you all had an awesome Christmas and have a great New Year.**


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Gilgamesh raged. His fury surprised even him, it nearly approaching the level it had when he'd cursed the gods at Enkidu's death. His fists clenched and his entire body quivered as he stared at the image Kirei showed him through the eyes of one of his familiars.

"I merely thought you would want to be informed," Kirei intoned, frowning slightly at Gilgamesh's reaction, "I had not anticipated you to take this as a slight however. I expected it would have brought you great joy."

"Joy?" Gilgamesh laughed without mirth before his eyes hardened, his voice rising to a roar as he continued, "No, this is absolutely unacceptable. Blasphemy! I will not accept her presence in my garden! Who is this woman, Kotomine? Who is that dares to draw my ire?"

Kirei's frown deepened as Gilgamesh's rage rose, and he delayed before replying, "She appears to be the Saber class Servant summoned by Ruler. But is she not beautiful, such as your Saber?"

"Fool!" Gilgamesh roared, swatting the mirror through which Kirei had displayed the image of Hakuno's Servants from his familiar, shattering the glass, "It is not Saber's physical beauty that pleases me! It is her dream, that hopeless ideal she carries in her heart that will one day drag her down to her screaming end! For another to wear her form, to mock my love so…It is unacceptable!"

Kirei slowly sat behind his desk as he watched Gilgamesh's quivering form. He had never truly seen the King of Heroes so enraged. He had to speak carefully here, to contain his anger. He could not yet let Gilgamesh reveal himself to the participants of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

He leaned back, his eyes studying Gilgamesh, "What do you intend to do? Surely her punishment will come in the shape of your Saber. I doubt she appreciates another taking her form either. There is no need to involve yourself."

"No need?" Gilgamesh responded, "A mongrel such as that is worthy of the ultimate punishment delivered by my own hand. I shall erase all of their miserable existences, even Ruler and her Master, for slighting me so. No…I will kill them all! Every last one of them! Ruler, those mongrels and their Red and Blue Servants, every last one! Tonight I shall claim my Holy Grail, and break my Saber to my will!"

Kirei froze. He couldn't simply let Gilgamesh slaughter them all. He needed to break Emiya first, and even he didn't know if Gilgamesh could take down seven Servants at once. He couldn't let this happen.

"King of Heroes, if you would only consider-"

Gilgamesh cut him off as he turned to the door with a murderous glint in his eyes, "I have considered, Kirei. They all die, tonight. I will even eliminate that filthy shadow the Blue Faction spawned. I will not allow these mongrels and their instruments to pervade my garden any longer."

Kirei jumped up at his words, desperate, surprising even himself, "No!"

Gilgamesh icily turned his head over his shoulder to land his murderous gaze on Kirei, "You would dare to order _me_? Have you forgotten Tokiomi's folly so easily? You have provided grand entertainment for me in the past ten years, Kirei, but take care that you do not overstep your place. This world is mine, and its inhabitants' fate is for me to decide. If I say they shall die, they will die."

"You cannot! There is so much potential for their suffering in this War! Not yet a single casualty, not a single tear of anguish yet spilled, and you would deny me all of this in return for one night of senseless slaughter?!"

Gilgamesh's killing intent encompassed the entire room, "Kirei. In return for your services in the past ten years, I shall allow you this single slight. But if you continue this madness when I return with my Grail, I will tire of my interest in you."

He moved to the door, and Kirei finally accepted the inevitable. Rolling back his sleeve and lifting up his arm, he addressed his Servant.

"Gilgamesh."

The King of Heroes turned, and his eyes widened in shock and rage at the sight before him. Before he could even speak Kirei continued, holding up the three red glowing Command Seals left over from the Fourth War emblazoned on his arm. Gilgamesh quivered in anger, and a golden light began to appear behind him.

"_You will not approach or attack any of the participants of the Fifth Holy Grail War, including their Servants and bases of operation, without my express permission_."

Gilgamesh released a single scream of rage as Kirei finished speaking, his partially-summoned Gate of Babylon snapped closed before he dropped to his knees as if struck, Kirei's Command Seal glowing and taking effect. He roared and cursed the Command Seals' existence, and spouted murderous rage and spittle from his mouth as he struggled to reach Kirei and strangle him. But he could not move forward.

Instinctively, Kirei felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards in a smile as he beheld his Servant's rage and pain at once again being forced to act as a puppet, having been stripped of the free will he had always deemed his own right. How his ego must be suffering, his mind enraged and destroyed, Kirei thought. A part of him was certain that one of the reasons Gilgamesh had so readily betrayed Tokiomi was the time he had been ordered with a Command Seal. He had later told him that he hated their existence, and Kirei had kept his three seals from his second pact in the Fourth War for an occasion such as this, for a day when he would need the King of Heroes to bow. Gilgamesh would certainly want to kill him now, but he was bound by Kirei's order to not kill any participants of the Fifth Holy Grail War, which included him thanks to his secret status as the Master of Lancer.

He smiled as he bent down beside Gilgamesh's quivering and cursing form, "It brings me great joy to see you brought so low, _King of Heroes_. You consider yourself lord of all, but here you quiver on the floor. It was you after all, who taught me to enjoy suffering. Your pain and rage here is exquisite. I give you permission to approach me of course, but not to attack me as I know you so desperately want to do. But rejoice. You shall be my tool to sow suffering and hatred across the battlefield of this Fifth Holy Grail War."

Gilgamesh howled wordlessly as he struggled to resist the Command Seal and attack Kirei, and the fake priest stood back to enjoy the show presented to him.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Leonardo Harway walked through the halls of his mansion with Luvia at his side. Julius trailed several feet behind them of course, always his silent shadow even if Leo had assured him Saber was more than enough protection. Several maids and other household servants bowed as the two Blue Masters swept by, but Leo paid them no heed as he conversed with Luvia. It would be unbecoming for a heir of the noble Harway family to address the staff directly anyways.<p>

"So you think you might have found the location of Ruler's Master as well then?" Luvia inquired as she kept pace alongside him.

He nodded, "Yes, Julius believes he has a lead. He's quite good with technology and the sort, and he's been hacking into the city's mainframe to control the traffic cameras and so forth to capture video feed of our enemies' activity during the night. He's registered Ruler and her Master frequently near a particular city area, and we believe their base to be somewhere nearby."

Luvia looked ponderingly over her shoulder at Julius who stared blankly at her before returning her attention to Leo, "Yes, that is good news. We should attempt to take them out quickly after we eliminate the Red Faction tonight."

Leo nodded again as they emerged onto a balcony where a light lunch had been prepared, "I agree. Eliminating our enemies quickly is our highest priority in this war."

Luvia eyed him as he held out her chair and she sat, never taking her eyes off him as he moved around the table to his own seat, "And who exactly, if I might ask, are your enemies in this War?"

Leo smiled softly as he toyed with a glass of wine placed before him, "Ah. You refer to the second phase of this War then? Have you decided to support my wish?"

Luvia narrowed her eyes, "Perhaps. I am not yet convinced."

Leo mustered his most imploring smile for her, "But can't you see the mankind cannot be trusted? They will destroy themselves before the turn of the next century, if left unchecked. Someone better and wiser must guide them to a nobler goal."

Luvia relaxed in her chair despite her inner tension, noting how he spoke as if he were separate from humanity, "Someone such as yourself?"

Leo presented her with a bashful smile, "Of course. The Harway family has sought to shape human history for generations. With the power of the Grail, I can finally end all the suffering in the world, and join humanity as a whole."

"Humanity as a whole under one head."

"So long as the head is pure the body shall be so accordingly," Leo countered, "If mankind must sacrifice their free will to survive, surely that is a fate better than death?"

"Perhaps…" Luvia mused, taking a drink of her wine.

"Surely you can't be thinking of siding with the Ainsworths?" Leo asked. A part of him was irked with this girl's short-sightedness, but he couldn't let it show past his gentlemanly façade. He needed her.

Luvia raised an eyebrow, "And if I am?"

Leo scoffed despite himself, "I refuse to believe a woman as beautiful and intelligent as you would lower herself to the level of a worm like Julian."

"A worm, you say?" A new voice broke in.

Leo frowned as Julian Ainsworth entered the balcony, accompanied by Angelica and his pervading sense of danger. He stood arrogantly as a maid hurriedly set him a seat at their table, and Leo curled his lip as Julian idly swirled a cup of his wine, Angelica standing imposingly behind him with her arms crossed. She stared fixedly at Julius, who stared coldly back across at her as he moved up behind Leo silently. No one spoke as Julian reclined in his chair, his dark hair brushing Angelica, before fixing Leo with his thunderous gaze.

"I suppose I should only expect such insults from a lowly family such as the Harways," he drily intoned.

Leo felt a rising fury inside his heart, but a single glance showed him Luvia was interestedly observing the exchange. He had to respond carefully to avoid falling into senseless anger, so that he could secure her support.

"Lowly?" he replied, "The Harway family has shepherded humanity for generations. Is that what you call a lowly family?"

"You've shepherded them into ruin, if that's what you mean. Your kind has tarnished mankind to the point that you've made me dirty my own hands to save them from your folly."

Leo felt his patience break, "Mad words from the master of a mad dog."

"Take care I don't allow this mad dog to rip out the throat of your pretty little soldier doll."

"So what then," Luvia asked Julian, interrupting them, "would you have of the Grail to save humanity?"

He regarded her disinterestedly, as if she was beneath him, but she managed to meet his eye, "I would have us begin again. Have you wondered why all Heroic Spirits are men and women of old? It is because by this age mankind has failed. We no longer produce men worthy enough to live on into legend, women pure enough to be glorified throughout the land. We are simply now a twisted, perverted form of humanity compared to the ages of old. I would have us return to that glory."

"You would erase all of our progress." Leo accused him.

"I would save the world from itself." Julian replied.

"As will I, but without losing that which has come before."

Luvia eyed them both. She had of course, sensed this undercurrent of tension and organization into camps when she'd first arrived, but this was the first time their hostility towards one another was openly displayed for her to see. She could only imagine what had brought such vicious enemies together to oppose the Red Faction. She knew they didn't trust anyone beside themselves to hold the Grail. Regardless, she was certain the walls of their alliance would come crumbling down the moment the last enemy Servant died. In order to have her own wish granted, she would need to outlast this inevitable civil war. For the moment she leaned towards Leo's side as he held two of the three legendary knight classes, including Saber. He and Julius seemed to be much more competent Masters than Erika and Beatrice, for sure. But she couldn't help but feel that Julian must have some incredible Heroic Spirit as his Berserker for Leo to regard him so cautiously. It was for this reason she simply sipped her wine as the two continued to argue, although she knew she would soon have to choose a side. She of course, ignored Rider's boasts in her head that he could take on all six of them.

Julian stood, running a hand through his hair as he looked down at Leo with one open eye, "I suppose I can't expect for someone like you to understand my legend and vision. I admit you might have more sensibility than some of those Red curs, but you still fall laughably short of the Ainsworth's status. I shall show you your folly before this War is over."

He exited with Angelica, his food untouched, and Leo gazed after him with a fury in his eyes, "I hate him. So short-sighted. Thinking _he_ knows what's best for humanity. How laughable. As if anyone else could understand…And going on about his Berserker, performing filthy rituals while we're away…"

Luvia too rose, addressing Leo as he cut off his muttering, "I must leave you now, to practice my jewelcraft in anticipation for tonight's raid. I will think on what you have said. Thank you, but please excuse me."

Leo rose and once again summoned his gentlemanly façade, bending to kiss her hand elegantly, "Of course, Lady Luvia. Please forgive that fool and his brash words for interrupting our lunch, and my own reactions. I hope will join me in my quest for salvation."

She nodded slightly before walking away swiftly, and Leo watched her go before he addressed Julius and the air behind him.

"Do you think you could defeat Berserker?"

Julius replied slowly, I am not sure. It would be difficult. He has only ever shown him once, and even then I could tell he was powerful without performing a full read on his parameters."

Archer laughed as he appeared reclining on the balcony against the wall, giving off a cocky smile, "I've already killed a Berserker once."

"Before he revived," Julius sharply cut him off, "and you were thoroughly humiliated by their Archer. Our reports say you didn't even finish off that Red Master."

Archer placed a hand to his heart mockingly, "Master, you wound me. Do you doubt my abilities so? How was I to know that he possessed such a Noble Phantasm, or that that idiot would jump in front of the girl?"

Assassin materialized and fixed Archer with a glare, "You weren't even supposed to kill the girl. The Einzberns are said to always prepare the Lesser Grail. She's probably the only one here who knows where it is, or the Greater Grail for that matter. If you'd killed her we would have lost that information."

Archer gave him a mocking smile as he adjusted his seat, "Oh? This coming from the Servant that lost us Ruler's Command Seals?"

Assassin glared, "Do not begin to trade words with me, Archer. A servant who uses such petty tricks and poisons is unbecoming of one of the three legendary knight classes."

Leo cut them off, "That's enough. I won't have us fighting amongst ourselves when we need to be unified against Julian and his ilk, not to mention the Red Faction and Ruler first."

Archer frowned, "You're not my Master, kid."

Julius snapped his fingers and fixed Archer with a glare, and the Blue Servant of the bow fell silent. Julius nodded to Leo, and he stepped forward as he felt approval emananting from Gawain in his spirit form as he took control of the conversation.

"Now," he began, "We have much to discuss."

* * *

><p>Hakuno focused on the floating orb in front of him. It hovered softly above the glass table in the lounge, glowing dimly. It wavered slightly, but he continued to focus on pouring more and more prana into it to give it form. In reality, this was barely different than what he had continually done for Julius, filing up countless jewels and other magical talismans to act as magical power batteries for the Harway's resident enforcer. This however, he reflected, as he felt a ticklish sensation running across his ribs, was much harder.<p>

He groaned as the light flickered and blinked out of existence, turning to Kuro, "Would you cut that out?"

"But, Onii-chan," she looked up at him innocently, "I'm just doing what you told me."

Hakuno groaned and pointed at Caster sitting across from him, "You're just doing what _she_ told you."

Caster smiled brightly from where she sat across from him, "You told them to listen to me while I taught you about magic, and I told her do that, so technically she _is_ doing what you told her."

Hakuno sighed and threw out his arms to gesture to the scene going on in the room, "Then please explain to me how _all of this_ is supposed to help me learn about magic!"

Caster's grin widened as she began pointing out of the various mechanics of her teaching style, "You already know the basics of opening your circuits to perform magic. But you have to be focused while practicing magecraft. So I need to teach you to keep your concentration steady before I teach you anything nasty that could blow up in your face if you stop paying attention to it."

"So all of this…?" Hakuno inquired.

Caster crossed her arms proudly, "Well you never know what kind of distractions you might have, so I've prepared a whole bunch for you. If you can concentrate with all of this going on, you should be fine! I've turned the heater all the way up, so you should be sweating by now. You'll have to ignore that physical discomfort. You'll also have to ignore the latest shrieks blaring from this Justin Bieber playlist I have going at full volume. But you can't completely ignore your surroundings, because Assassin will be sneaking up on you like an enemy might during a battle. You have to raise your left hand whenever you think he's nearby or else he gets to smack you on the head if he gets close enough!"

"What?" Hakuno protested, "That's not fair! He has Presence Concealment!"

He grunted as he was cuffed on the back of the head lightly and looked up to see Assassin smiling down at him as he spoke, "I've turned it off for now. Try harder next time."

"Wha-" Hakuno lightly protested again as Assassin melted into the back of the room.

"Then," Caster continued her lecture, "I've told Kuro to distract you physically anyway possibly, preferably through tickling. You can't worry about the itch on your foot during a battle!"

Kuro grinned up at him, "I've already licked your elbow six times without you noticing too."

"What?" Hakuno cried out, covering his arm, "Don't do that. And do you really think I'd risk my life during a battle to scratch an itch?"

Caster smiled, "I have. Now pay attention or I'll allow Kuro to lick you somewhere else."

"I am-" Hakuno grunted as he was struck again by Assassin before he disappeared, "-paying attention."

Caster nodded and patted Ruler on the shoulder, sitting next to her, "I'm having Ruler stare at you constantly to make you feel uncomfortable. If you get easily distracted by something like that icky feeling of someone staring you down, you'll lose for sure!"

Ruler nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving Hakuno or blinking, and he fidgeted before he pointed to Saber posing erotically in a bikini behind Caster, "Yeah, alright sure. But how is that supposed to be a part of my training?"

Caster glared at him pointedly, "Everyone knows that men are hormonal beasts. If you can resist focusing on Saber's voluptuous body you might just have a chance at staying concentrated on your magecraft in the middle of a battle. You can't be thinking about something perverted like how cute I look in my pajamas when you're getting ready to fry another mage with lightning!"

"Seriously?" Hakuno deadpanned.

Caster nodded importantly, "Yep! If you can master this technique, maybe I'll teach you some cool stuff. For your protection only, of course. We can't have you getting yourself killed."

"Yeah, that's not really one of my goals either." Hakuno muttered, before he suddenly straightened and lifted his left hand as he looked to Caster questioningly.

She shook her head, "He's not there."

He sighed and then grunted as he felt the cuff on his head. He looked back to Assassin smiling at him and then to Caster's victorious smirk.

"What the hell?" Hakuno asked her, "I said he was there!"

She stood and pointed at him defiantly, "But you changed your mind when I said he wasn't! Never trust the enemy on the battlefield! They might try to deceive you with their words!"

"This is unbelievable." Hakuno muttered.

"This training, Praetor," Saber said from behind Caster's couch, "I made sure the warriors of my time were well trained in both body and mind. I am pleased to see you undergo the same. An artist's foremost weapon is their mind after all."

"Alright!" Caster clapped her hands together, "That's enough explanation! Back to powering up the orb! We're gonna keep at this until you get it!"

"But it's already noon," Hakuno gave one final protest, "I'm practically nocturnal now, and I'm already tired from summoning Saber last night."

"Nonsense! Young men like yourself should be able to run for days on end without sleep. Now back to it!"

Hakuno groaned and once again set himself to generating the orb of light he'd be struggling with for the next four hours.

* * *

><p>Rin Tohsaka walked idly on the pond's shore at Ryuudou Temple. It really was a beautiful day out, she couldn't help but think. It almost made her want to skip stones on the pond's cool, clear, and reflective surface like she used to as a kid. But she couldn't of course. She'd die if any of her fellow Masters caught her doing something so trivial. Not to mention the ridicule that would surely come from her own Servant. And she definitely wasn't a kid anymore. Back then, she'd still had a father, a mother, a sister… Those were all gone now. She was the sole remaining Tohsaka heir, obligated to win the Holy Grail to uphold the respect of her family. She couldn't let a pack of foreigners like the Blue Faction or Ruler's Master waltz in and take the prize her family had worked towards for generations, let alone any of the Red Masters. Her father would certainly want her to win. And she wanted to, for his sake.<p>

But she was afraid. She'd come to enjoy some of the Red Masters' company, and even some of the Servants'. She honestly wasn't sure she'd be able to kill them when the second phase of the war came. It was harder once she saw them as human beings and got to know them, rather than just envisioning them as faceless foes she would encounter and defeat in a single night. She didn't expect to have a week of history or more with them. So she banished those thoughts from her head, and sat on the grassy shore for some time to stare out across the pond, thinking of better days. It was peaceful, and of course that peace had to be broken when her Servant materialized leaning against the tree behind her.

"Rin," he spoke deeply, waiting for her to reply. He knew she was troubled, but would wait for her to speak to him of her worries. If he pressed too quickly she might bite his head off after all.

"Archer," She turned to him with a soft smile, "Have you recovered from your injuries yet?"

"Not completely," he sighed, rubbing his shoulder as he crossed his arms, "Using that attack took a lot more out of me than I expected. But give it a day or so. The location of this temple along the natural leylines is helpful as well."

She nodded slowly, "It was definitely a gamble. But I don't think there was any other way to buy time until help arrived."

Archer gazed at the back of her head and past it out to the water, "It worked yes, but I'd rather not deploy it on that scale unless I have to, especially this early in the war. It's too similar to my Noble Phantasm."

"The super-secret one you won't tell me about?" Rin grumbled.

He smirked as he looked down at the tree roots sprouting from the ground, "Yes, that one."

They both remained silent for a while before Rin spoke up softly, "How are we going to kill them?"

Archer shrugged and narrowed his eyes as he thought of Caster and Shinji, "It's war. People will die. I'm actually excited to kill some of them when the time comes."

"It might be easy for you, but it's harder for me. I mean, I've gone to school with Emiya my entire life for example."

Archer grunted. He still wasn't entirely sure if he'd go through with his plan to kill his younger self. He'd like to avoid erasing himself from existence if he could. But if he couldn't turn the foolish boy away from the idealistic path he himself had chosen, then perhaps it was the lesser of two evils.

"Then don't focus on it now," he suggested, "We still have to take care of the Blue Faction and Ruler after all."

Rin frowned, "We do need to find Ruler soon. We can't let her build up a full team of Servants. She probably already has a couple by now. But it gets harder to summon more as their team grows, so maybe we still have some time."

Archer kept silent, not mentioning his battle with Ruler's Archer Servant, the strange lookalike to Illya. While Archer was no stranger to the Kaleidoscope, having been summoned as a Counter Guardian into countless alternate realties filled with terrors that needed to be cleansed by his blades, he had never encountered anyone even remotely like her. The fact that someone could copy his skills as a Heroic Spirit was…troubling, to say the least. But he had forged a truce with her, and she seemed to know some version of Emiya Shirou, so he tried to steer Rin away from Ruler. It didn't hurt that what he was about to say was true either.

"I think," he began, "that we should be focusing on the Blue Faction for now."

Rin frowned, although Archer couldn't see it from behind her, "The Blue Faction? But they were weak enough that you defeated them all with your storm of swords in a single go."

"And that nearly killed me," he reminded her, "And next time they'll be expecting it, and will have taken countermeasures. And most of them were weakened after fighting Saber or Berserker. And we haven't seen their Berserker, or the full extent of their Caster. And Lancer claims that Assassin of Blue is strong. Remember Rin, that they are all Heroic Spirits for a reason. They won't be defeated so easily."

Rin sighed and placed her head on her arms as she hugged herself, "I guess. But we can't let them stop us. I have to win the Holy Grail for Father's sake. And I still haven't even found any clues to his killer yet."

Standing there, looking at her vulnerable and scared about her chances as she gazed out at the water made Archer want to tell her. Tell her that it was Kirei Kotomine, her guardian and overseer of this mad ritual, who had betrayed Tokiomi Tohsaka and murdered him in cold blood. He himself wanted to go and slaughter that priest before he began any of his evil machinations, but that would require him to face Gilgamesh. And he wasn't sure if he was yet ready to face the King of Heroes head-on. As a Counter-Guardian, certainly. But he was unsure of his capability as a Heroic Spirit. Besides, that would lead to Rin questioning how he knew any of this, which would lead to the revelation of his identity as Emiya Shirou. And even beyond that, this timeline was too different from his own. He didn't remember any Aporcypha being triggered, or any Blue Faction or Ruler Servant. Who knew what Kirei had up his sleeve in this reality? All he could do here was protect Rin and his little sister, and hope to change his younger self's foolish ideals. He couldn't even save Sakura without revealing himself. He could only hope that monstrous shadow wouldn't be spawned. He'd been summoned as a Counter-Guardian once to that universe when she'd gone out of control, his younger-self failing to stop her, and that one time had been enough to make him shudder every time he thought of his childhood friend. As long as the Grail wasn't corrupted, he had a chance. He'd seen some realities were it was never tainted in the Third War. Perhaps it was the same here.

"Well," he said, "If you're not satisfied by the time I win this Holy Grail War for you, simply wish for justice on your father's killer from the Grail."

Rin lowered her head, moved by his words, and Archer cocked his head to the side as he stared at her quizzically, "Rin? Why are your ears red?"

"Shut up!" She turned him with a red face, "I'm cold, okay? That's it! Nothing else, you lunkhead!"

He smirked. After having so many years of Rin mercilessly teasing him in his childhood, it always felt good to get a couple shots back in now, even if Rin didn't know who he was. His reply was cut off as Illya's voice carried over from across the pond from where she stood at Shirou and Saber's side.

"Rin! Get over here! We're going grocery shopping with Shirou and Saber! He's gonna make us a feast tonight!"

Rin grunted, grumbling as she stood and brushed dirt off her skirt as she replied to them. She turned to Archer when she was done, looking up at him, "Are you coming with us? Saber's there, and I'm sure Berserker never leaves Illya's side, so you won't have to worry about protecting me. It'd be good for you to relax instead of being so serious all the time."

Archer smirked and gazed across the pond at Shirou with his heightened eyesight, "And listen to that idiot ramble on about food produce. The idiot can't even make toast right."

Rin glanced at him, "He's actually pretty good. Almost as good as you."

He glared at her, "If you tell anyone…"

She smiled innocently at him, "That you're a great cook and housemaid? I'd never do that."

"Enough already," he waved his hand as he kicked off the tree's trunk and began walking towards the pond's edge, "Lancer's out scouting isn't he? I think I'll do the same. It's better than listening to you swoon over Emiya."

Rin's face exploded in fury but before she could rebuke him he disappeared into spirit form just as he reached the water's edge. She stared at the place where he had disappeared furiously for a moment before turning angrily to make her way to where Saber and the others were waiting. That damn Independent Action Skill. She couldn't keep herself from muttering angrily to herself as she walked.

"That idiot."

**A/N: Another chapter down. Next time will be the big fight a lot of you have been waiting for. Some interesting developments, as Kirei and Gilgamesh's relationship has completely broken down. Anyways, leave your thoughts on this chapter, reviews are always super motivating. And now that we've broken 100 reviews, I just wanna say you guys are awesome for that. Also, someone asked if Hakuno's Assassin is Ezio from Assassin's Creed, and while that would be undeniably awesome, he's actually the first Hassan-i-Sabbah. So sorry if that disappoints you, although I do admit that would have been cool. To address some reviews about how some attacks shouldn't affect Berserker due to his God Hand Noble Phantasm, I admit I forgot about that aspect of it in that one chapter. So that part will definitely be applied in the future, sorry about that.**

**Also, I know Fate/Apocrypha volume 5 came out the past couple of days, so if anyone was willing to send me summary of what happened that'd be awesome, although I did manage to pick up a few details. That also extends to volumes 3 and 4, as I haven't been able to find any translations or spoilers for them yet. (Especially volume 4. I know a little about volume 3.) **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing, and I'll try to get at least this next chapter out before I have to go back to school.**


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

Assassin waited silently atop the steps leading to Ryuudou Temple as the moon rose before him. The night was only just fallen, but he remained vigilant as ever. Any movement could easily be Saber and her companions returning from their outing, or the enemy's first attack. While he hated his Master, Caster, he had sworn on his blade to protect this Temple. And he did not intend to break a vow sworn on his sword. The sword was the only thing he had after all. His fate was not his own, being bound by a fellow Servant such as Caster. There was no chance for him to truly participate in this war beyond her direction. He had no wish for the Grail anyway, only the wish to be defeated by a worthy opponent. He hoped that in such final moments of desperation when fighting to survive, he might truly feel alive. For the Red Servant Assassin did not feel as though he lived. He called himself Sasaki Kojiro, but the truth was that that Heroic Spirit never existed. The Grail had only conjured up the closest copy it could find: himself. It was for this reason Assassin felt he had no true claim to this life. And so, with no chance of obtaining the Grail, he could only await the enemy's sword.

And tonight it seemed, his time of waiting was finally over. Silver mist showered at the edge of Caster's Bounded Field around the Temple, just before the steps. If there was one thing he was grateful for from her, it was that. Her Bounded Field ensured no Servant could proceed into the Temple without first materializing and attacking him, ensuring he would receive the battle he so desired. Assassin telepathically warned Caster of the enemy's approach through their link as the mist arranged itself into the form of a strong man casually holding his sword at his side. He would trade blows with Saber of Blue tonight, it appeared. The man began to slowly walk up the steps to the temple gate, seemingly in no hurry. Assassin took in his silver armor glistening like a torch in the moonlight, and the radiance of his glowing hair. But most of all he gazed into his opponent's determined eyes, and allowed himself a small smile as he extended his blade from its sheath. Perhaps he would be able to face death tonight after all.

He felt Caster's panic but pushed it out of his mind as several more Servants materialized behind Saber of Blue, along with several Masters approaching the temple steps. He chuckled and briefly closed his eyes as he thought on their numbers. The show of force could only mean that the Blue Faction intended to end the War tonight. How disappointed they would be when they realized that half of their number were away tonight he reflected. Counting the enemy, it became clear to him that could not withstand all of their attacks at once, or delay them all. All he could hope for was his single duel. Caster and the others would have to fend for themselves. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try.

He fluidly raised his long sword and pointed it at Saber of Blue, who had stopped several feet below him, and spoke in a calm voice, "You will stay to face me. The others may pass when we are finished."

A Blue Master in a long black overcoat stepped up beside Saber, flanked by Assassin and Archer of Blue, and spoke up boldly, "We will all pass now, if you wish to have your duel. Otherwise you shall simply fall here."

Assassin nodded in silent consent, and his eyes never left Saber of Blue as the enemy filed past him and up into the temple ahead. The two Servants waited several moments until they were alone, each staring the other resiliently down. Then Saber of Blue suddenly smiled and stepped forward as he crossed his blade over his heart.

"I am Sir Gawain of the Round Table," he spoke warmly, "And under the order of my Master I have sought to defeat a worthy opponent such as yourself. So I challenge you, Assassin of Red."

Assassin nodded, "I am called Sasaki Kojiro, though I have no true name but my blade. Tonight, I shall cross my sword against yours."

They both nodded slightly then, the smallest acknowledgement that they recognized the other as an honorable and worthy opponent. And then Saber of Blue darted forward and the two Servants met in a clash of steel. Assassin move like a snake, fluidly deflecting each of Saber's blows to the side. His blade would surely bend against such a broad Western sword like Saber's, but its length and his elevated position were ideal to allow him to parry each and every blow. Saber recognized Assassin as a master of the blade, and pushed forward aggressively. He needed to gain level footing with his enemy, but with the arrangement of the stairs and Assassin's refusal to descend to him, the only such ground was ahead of him. He viciously attempted to force Assassin back with each blow, but the Red Servant continually managed to divert each and every one of his strikes. While each of Saber's movements were precise and accurate, meant to reach Assassin with the most efficiency, the Red Servant almost casually parried every strike in a wide arc. Even in his time in Camelot Gawain had never faced such a skilled opponent in swordplay. And after several minutes of prolonged battle he had only managed to force Assassin back a single step up the stairs, and was still nowhere near to comprehending his style. It made him wonder how such a man had been summoned into the Assassin class, generally considered to be the weakest physically.

Assassin, for his part, was very pleased. His heart and mind were racing, and he was forced to move his sword in an instant to keep up with Saber's relentless assault. He had even been forced back a step, something he never would have expected. Truly, he had found a worthy opponent. He swung his sword to the side to divert another of Saber's blows, the blades glittering in the moonlight. Assassin reflected to himself that they seemed nearly as hungry for battle as their masters as they danced with one another accompanied by rings of steel clashing in the night. Saber narrowed his eyes as he hurled his sword forward in an attack that Assassin couldn't possibly deflect without raising his own blade to block it head-on or moving out of the way. The Red Servant chose the latter response, twisting to the side, and Gawain moved forward another step. But in that moment the battle changed. Assassin's blade leaped forward almost as if it had a life of its own, hungry for blood, and Saber was furiously forced to raise Excalibur Galatine in defense. Assassin pressed his sudden momentum, and Saber found himself struggling to keep the enemy's blade from reaching his neck as he rapidly parried each blow. Assassin's assault was just as furious as his own, but where Saber had forced his way through with short, powerful strikes, the Red Servant extended his blade in wide, relentless attacks focused on speed. It amazed him that he still didn't recognize Assassin's attacks until it was nearly too late, despite his own personal talents at determining an enemy's style. Saber's wrists began to ache from the constant jarring of his sword as he deflected Assassin's blows, and sensed a faint spark of worry flowing through the bond with his Master. He mustered his resolve and sent a wave of determination and confidence through the bond, heartened by his liege's concern. He would not fail his Master as he had failed his king.

Saber continued his defense, waiting for a gap in his enemy's assault. There was little time for him to plan ahead, but he instinctively took the first opening he found in Assassin's sword play. Despite his sword's length Assassin was very careful about leaving an entry into his closer guard, no doubt knowing it was perhaps his greatest weakness. He did leave openings, as any swordsman would, but Saber was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to both enter that guard and raise his sword in time for a kill before Assassin's blade returned. So as Saber deflected both of their swords into the air towards the moon he opted to only enter Assassin's guard, not bothering to attempt to attack, but instead dashing by the man close enough to feel the silk of his robes ruffle his hair as he launched himself under the Red Servant's arm. He grunted and rolled as he hit the pavement of the stairs, coming to rest on the flat segment of the path as he crouched and readied his blade for another defense. Their positions now reversed, with Assassin facing the Temple, he fully expected the Red Servant to attack to regain his defense position before the gate. But Assassin surprised him by not pursuing him, instead only smiling as he watched the Blue Servant of the Sword.

Assassin chuckled, shaking his head, "I must admit, I never expected anyone to take advantage of my guard as you have tonight."

Saber nodded cautiously, "Indeed, your defense is too strong to allow time for a crippling blow. But I gambled that I could evade your returning sword if I only entered it to dash by you."

"Truly," Assassin began as he ascended the steps to level footing with Saber, "you are an opponent worthy of my ultimate skill. And I apologize that I must defeat you swiftly, to help my Master. I would have liked to duel with you longer."

Assassin crouched and readied his blade, narrowing his eyes as he continued, "I am not as you, Servant of the Sword. I have no true Noble Phantasm, only the single blow I dedicated my entire life to. It is not on par with a holy legend such as yours. But still, let us see if you can withstand it!"

Saber readied his blade, and he felt a wave of apprehension from his Master. Assassin was clearly about to unleash his ultimate attack. He prepared himself, fully realizing that the fight would be won or lost in the next moment. But before he could begin to formulate his plan for defense, his Master's voice reached him through their bond.

"_**Saber. Deflect and counter Assassin's next attack**_."

Saber's eyes widened at his Master's use of a Command Seal, and in that moment Assassin activated his true skill.

"Swallow Reversal!" The Red Servant roared, and Gawain felt his body move of its own accord as the Command Seal took hold.

In that single moment, one part of Saber's brain recognized that the single sword before him had become three. It astounded him, a miraculous attack created through pure skill alone. He saw the path of the simultaneous blade, and his mind raced to find a way to survive. He believed he might be able to deflect two of the blows, and placed his hopes on a mad gamble for the third. But even as he thought this, his body was already moving through the use of his Master's Command Seal. He was not allowed to fall to this blow. Another part of his mind processed all of the same information even faster, in the span of less than an instant. He was already moving, twisting forward as he raised his sword. The hilt-guard and blade would deflect two of the attacks. He convoluted his body impossibly to avoid the third, allowing only the tip of the blade to slice his cheek as he spun past Assassin. And then the blow was over, and Saber flicked his sword down the length of Assassin's back, severing the spine in a spray of blood, a clean kill. And finally, unwilling forced by the absolute command to counter his opponent, he turned and swiftly plunged his blade to the hilt through Assassin's heart. Sickened by his dishonorable follow-up assualt, he fell to his knees alongside the skewered Red Servant. Assassin coughed up a small fountain of blood as his lungs began to overflow, and his head rolled back onto Saber's shoulder as he rested in his dying moments, gazing up at the brilliant moon.

He let out a small chuckle, pausing momentarily to hack up more dribbles of blood and fluid, "So. You managed to deflect it after all? You are truly deserving of the Saber class then, Sir Gawain of the Round Table."

"I am sorry," Saber spoke softly, his thin line of blood from his cheek dribbling down to join the stream flowing from Assassin's chest, "but I do not believe I would have survived without the use of my Master's Command Seal. I apologize. I had wanted to offer you an honorable defeat from my own skill."

Assassin paused and closed his eyes sadly, "So. It seems my wish wasn't granted after all. A pity. But I do believe, that just before my final moments, you had offered me my worthiest battle in this fool of a War so far. Don't let your heart stay heavy, Saber. Regardless of this duel's end, you were a worthy opponent all the same."

Saber bowed his head in thanks, "My gratitude, Sasaki Kojiro. I shall remember your blade."

Assassin smiled softly, and Saber remained with him until the Red Servant finally evaporated in a cloud of purple mist. He rose then, and flicked his sword to clear it of his enemy's blood. While he understood his Master's reasoning, he couldn't help but feel disgusted with the way his duel had ended. It was too similar to trickery, or cheating. That, combined with dishonor he had previously encountered in Archer of Red, made him wish dearly for an honorable opponent and fair duel ahead. Tightening his grip on his sword, he ascended the steps to the battle raging above.

* * *

><p>Luvia walked cautiously alongside Rider past Assassin of Red, Saber remaining behind to face the Red Servant in a duel. She was soon past them and she followed Julius until he paused before the final rise to the Temple's entrance to look down at them.<p>

"We cannot allow any to escape," he warned them, and Luvia nodded alongside Angelica as he continued, "We must finish them here."

He turned and summoned his mystic code then, eight black swords appearing floating in the air around him. Angelica's runes inscribed by Caster glowed in the night, and Luvia anxiously turned one of her gems over in her sweaty palm in anticipation. Then Archer and Rider darted forward into the Temple grounds, pursued swiftly by Lancer and Assassin. Luvia and the other two followed, and despite moving only moments later, they emerged onto a battlefield. The ground already smoked with craters formed by blasts of magical energy, and Luvia's eyes were immediately drawn to Caster of Red, hovering in the sky above the Temple with her cloak unfurled and staff ready, projecting multiple blasts of violet energy that shook the earth wherever they struck. As she watched her Servant nimbly rolled to the side as he approached her, moving back in forth as he tried to close distance. Archer of Blue covered him from a distance, forcing Caster to split her time between blocking his arrows and attacking Rider of Blue as he advanced. She then moved her gaze across the battlefield to see Rider of Red engaging Assassin and Lancer, along with Julius and his mystic code. The Red Servant was faster than any of them, nimbly spinning her chains in a protective cage that repelled both Blue Servants from closing distance. She nimbly maintained this defense even as she moved and twisted her body to avoid the swords Julius shot off from his mystic code from a distance.

Any further observation was halted however, as she immediately became aware of a man in a suit rocketing toward her with breakneck speed. She gasped, cursing herself for becoming distracted so easily, and fumbled for a jewel, but he was already upon her. She grunted as his palm sent her skidding backward, and she felt as if she might cough up her own lungs. She wheezed in pain, curled up on the ground from the sheer force of the single blow as black specks floated across her vision. She felt Rider's concern through their bond, and she struggled to lift her head before the man was upon her again, although she knew it was pointless. She was amazed then, when a second attack didn't follow the first. She shakily raised her head to see Angelica engaging the enemy Red Master, both of their fists flying at a furious speed. It was clear to her that neither one of them were human. They were too fast, too precise with each of their blows. The way the ground cracked when Angelica pushed off it, or the way wood splintered when the man's blow rocketed just past Angelica's head wasn't natural. She reasoned that the man must have been augmented by Caster of Red, just like Erika had had her Servant strengthen Angelica. Perhaps he was even Caster of Red's Master.

The two exchanged blows in a flurry of speed, fists flying meant to shatter bones and rupture organs. Angelica twisted to the side as the man lashed out with a furious fist, responding with a jutted elbow to the man's ribs. But the man countered by pushing the blow down to the earth with his off hand, sweeping Angelica to the floor. The woman spun as she fell, her leg sweeping out towards the man's head. He caught her foot with both hands, twisting it in an attempt to break the ankle. But Angelica merely spun with her hands on the floor alongside him, her other knee coming around in an attack aimed for his ribcage. The man was forced to release her and dash back as she flipped herself up, pausing only momentarily before dashing forward to resume her assault. So their battle continued, each preparing a killing blow only for the other to counter it to their advantage, resulting only in a stalemate until they re-engaged again.

Beyond them, Caster of Red furiously hurled beams of magical energy down at her foes. Archer of Blue shot each attack out of the sky before they could reach him, while Rider of Blue hurled himself to the side each time, somehow managing to evade her. Inside her mind she cursed Assassin again, even though the rational side of her brain knew he was still engaging the enemy's Saber. He should have finished his duel by now. She grit her teeth as she projected yet another magic circle to deflect Archer's attacks, his arrows exploding in the sky beneath her. Her eyes surveyed the battlefield as she retaliated with more beams of light, taking in Rider engaging two Blue Servants and one of the Masters. It appeared that her Master had already eliminated one of the Blue Masters from the battle, and was now attacking Caster of Blue, judging by the level of prana emanating from the woman covered in purple runes. She cursed again. If only she had an opening where she could use Rule Breaker, her Noble Phantasm, to capture one of the enemy Servants. But the dagger required her to be close to the enemy, and right now range was her only ally. While Archer's attacks could reach her, she didn't have to worry about Rider of Blue as much, unless he reached a height where he could jump to her or the idiot decided to hurl his spear. She cursed again as she released another wave of attacks at the Blue Servants, praying that the rest of the Red Faction would soon arrive. She had only ever created a telepathic connection with Lancer, and he had not responded to her calls. Cursing them all over and over, she hissed as one of Archer's arrows flew past her defense, just barely missing her head. She remembered the trickster's poison well enough. She could not let them touch her. Despite her desire to go protect her Master and continue to lament over her lack of reinforcements, she instead returned her focus to the enemies before her.

Below her, Rider of Red continued to nimbly evade Lancer and Assassin of Blue. The Blue Master beyond them wasn't much of a problem, as she could easily predict the path of the swords floating around him he launched off. But the two enemy Servants were beginning to adjust to the pattern of the defensive shell created by her chains, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep this distance much longer. Even as she realized this, Lancer hurled her spear towards bubble formed by the continuous movement of her weapons. The steel links wrapped around the crystallized lance and immediately went taut as the spear plunged tip-first into the earth. Assassin moved, and she twisted away, but realized too late that she wasn't his intended target. Assassin raced up to the taut chains and lance, his feet sliding into the earth as he skidded to a stop. Breathing in deeply, his fists suddenly ablaze with emerald fire, he grunted and hurled an open palm against the chain, snapping the steel links with a resounding crack. Lancer grinned as she retrieved her spear, both Blue Servants readying themselves as Rider twisted around another sword fired off by the enemy Master.

She was at a disadvantage now, she realized. A third of the length of her left chain had been snapped out, and she could no longer maintain her defensive sphere without leaving a massive opening. Lancer of Blue darted forward to close the distance, and Rider hurled her chains forward, causing her to evade to the side. She pressed her momentary assault but was thoroughly confused when she saw Assassin give a glance to the enemy Master and then vanish from sight. Recalling Lancer's tale of his unnatural Presence Concealment skill, she tightened in her assault, switching to a more defensive attack against Lancer of Blue that would allow her to counter Assassin should he decide to intervene. But unknown to her, Assassin of Blue had already left the battlefield.

He raced into the wooden temple building, his eyes swiftly taking in an abandoned lounge. His Master Julius had only counted three Red Servants present here including the swordsman guarding the gate outside, and Assassin of Blue agreed with his Master that the rest of them must be lying in wait somewhere nearby for the right moment to counterattack. He was surprised then, as he raced through the house to discover it empty. There wasn't a single trace of a Servant present. Perhaps they were out patrolling the city? That would be unfortunate, as the entire point of this raid was to eliminate the Red Faction in one go. He paused in the wooden hallways and calmed his breathing, expanding his senses as far as they would reach. He sought after every detection of life he knew, listening for the smallest heartbeat or the most concealed huff of breath. He grinned as his eyes snapped open and he detected the life force of a single human hiding in a room ahead, likely a Red Master. He walked silently forward, pausing before the wooden screen separating him from the room containing his prey. With a grin, he dashed into the room, splintering the wooden screening and cracking the floor as he landed.

The purple haired boy before him cried out and began sobbing horribly as he curled up beneath a table. The room appeared to be an office of some kind, and Assassin could still clearly hear the sounds of battle outside. He stood still as the boy continued to gasp and sob, wondering what it must be like for him to see a door seemingly crash down before him. He was still invisible, after all. The boy continued to whimper, and then to Assassin's surprise he began to babble out meaningless promises to the empty air. He had to know a Servant was there, and it appeared the boy was pleading his case to live. Assassin grew more and more disgusted as he listened to the boy ramble on. A Master should fight alongside their Servant, like Julius does, rather than cower behind them and hide in fear like this boy. Frowning in disgust, Assassin deactivated his Sphere Boundary skill and allowed the boy to see him.

The child backed away, scrambling to the wall in fear as he continued to babble, but Assassin cut him off with a cold voice, "Are there any more of you here?"

The boy sobbed, tears running down his face, "No! We're the only ones! Emiya and the others are still out! Please! You don't have to kill me! You only need to kill Rider and Caster, and that samurai, don't you! I'm not dangerous, like Kuzuki-sensei! I can't power your Grail! Please! You can't kill me! I'm Shinji Matou, a member of the Three Families! If-If you kill me there will be consequences!"

"You are the only Master hiding here. All the others are fighting outside?" Assassin confirmed.

"Yes!" Shinji sobbed.

"Then I have no further use for you." Assassin said coldly and Shinji froze.

Assassin lowered his stance and breathed deeply as he raised his fist aglow with green fire. Shinji seemed to realize what was about to happen and screamed, but Assassin quickly silenced him as he plunged his open palm into the boy's stomach. The Red Master was killed instantly, his organs and heart ruptured, but the force of the blast still sent his bleeding husk of a body blasting through the flimsy wooden wall and skidding to halt in the middle of the courtyard. Assassin frowned as he stepped over the remains of the rubble and back onto the battlefield as he gazed distastefully at the body of the cowardly Master.

Rider of Red turned at the noise, and immediately registered the death of Shinji and connected it to Assassin's earlier disappearance as he remerged from the building. While the boy had been her surrogate Master at Sakura's command, she could not bring herself to feel any pity over his death. All that remained now for her was to protect her true Master. A single glance about the battlefield showed her that Caster and her Master were still engaged, but a bloodied Saber of Blue stepping forward through the Temple gate meant Assassin of Red had been defeated. She no longer had any purpose for staying here, she reasoned. Suddenly strengthened by a rush of prana as her connection to Sakura was reestablished and she no longer was forced to gain energy by consuming souls, she pushed Lancer of Blue back, surprising her with her newfound strength. But instead of pressing her advantage she dashed past the enemy Servant and towards the temple gate, aiming to escape the slaughter. Saber of Blue saw her coming and readied his sword, but she nimbly evaded his blow and swept past him, her speed as the fastest of all the Red Servants now that she was connected to Sakura allowing her to easily outmaneuver him and race down the temple steps. She heard the angry shouts of the Blue Master with the mystic code behind her, and Caster of Red cursing her for cowardice, but as soon as she passed the Bounded Field at the steps' edge she dispelled herself into spirit form, immediately heading to Matou Mansion and Sakura.

On the battlefield behind her Caster cursed vehemently as Rider abandoned them. Her utmost priority now was escaping with Souichirou-sama, especially now that Assassin of Red had also fallen. This had become a hopeless situation. Desperate, she released a massive barrage of attacks that forced the two Blue Servants below her to defend themselves, and sent a number of spells towards the other three to keep them preoccupied as well. She swooped down as fast as she could to her Master, Rule Breaker ready in her hand. She needed to even the odds. Souichirou saw her coming, and immediately understood what she was trying to do. He darted forwards towards the woman that could only be Caster of Blue, occupying her attention. She was forced to respond, and Caster plunged Rule Breaker into the woman's unprotected back shoulder as she attempted to attack Souichirou. She gasped and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain as Rule Breaker took effect. Caster hurriedly landed and projected a magical barrier several feet in diameter around the three of them, turning to her Master even as the enemy Servants regained their bearings outside. They immediately began to assault her barrier, and Caster poured every drop of prana she had accumulated into maintaining the shield. She needed this time to rescue Souichirou-sama. Her mind raced for a plan as small cracks began to appear in the crystalline wall, the magical power collected straight from the city's leylines barely holding up against the combined strength of five Heroic Spirits. She grasped at ideas, and decided she would force her newly captured Servant to buy her time, and then escape with her Master.

"Souichirou-sama," Caster asked hurriedly, "Are you all right?"

"I am fine, Caster," he replied evenly to her.

Caster felt her heart flutter in relief before she turned to look down at the woman gasping below them, her runes flickering and going haywire as Rule Breaker disrupted their magic, "Caster of Blue. I am your Master now."

Caster was shocked when the woman began to chuckle despite her obvious pain and looked up at them with disdain in her eyes, "I am no Servant, you fool. And I only serve one man."

Caster felt her heart plummet all over again, and froze in panic when she realized that she hadn't acquired any new Command Seals. She turned down to the woman in shock, "But you had to be the Caster of Blue…"

The woman continued to laugh, and Caster hardened her face as she turned to her Master, "Souichirou-sama. Hold on to me. I'm going to release the barrier, and then fly us out of here."

Souichirou nodded and took hold of her as she prepared to drop the shield. As they were talking, Luvia eyed them wearily from where she lay. Though she was nearly unconscious, she could still hear what they were saying. She'd lucked out that Caster had assumed her dead, and she was trapped inside Caster's shield without the Red Servant noticing. Very careful not to move or attract attention, she carefully slipped a gem into her hand. She would only get one shot before Caster moved, and with Angelica unconscious now and herself about to black out, this was the only way to stop the Red Servant and Master from escaping. She silently communicated with her Servant through her bond as the Blue Servants continued to attempt to break down the barrier.

"_Rider_," she sent telepathically, "_I'm going to try and make an opening from the inside. You'll have one small shot_."

"_Only but give me the chance_." He assured her through their bond.

She grunted and mustered all of her energy as she struggled to sit up, and then hurled a magic-disruption gem with a cry at the barrier, before she blacked out from the effort. Caster's eyes widened as she saw the girl she'd thought was dead suddenly move, and she felt a sense of dread as she something small glitter in the air. It hit the edge of her barrier, exploding in a shower of dust, and there was a single ripple for a momentary second in her defense. She immediately began to ascend to the sky and escape with her Master before that single moment of vulnerability could harm them. But that moment was all it took, as Rider of Blue hurled his halberd through the opening with a roar. Caster of Red grunted as the weapon impaled both her and her Master before it flew completely through them to quiver in the temple walls behind them, leaving gaping holes in both of their bodies. Caster crumpled to the floor, while Souichirou sank to his knees beside her. Coughing, her eyes filled with tears, she feebly raised a hand to her Master, who took it in both of his, calm as ever.

"Souichirou-sama…" she whispered, lamenting in her heart that she had failed to protect him.

He said nothing, but merely held her hand until she disappeared from sight, her soul returning to the Grail. Then he stood, and shakily turned to face the assembled Blue Servants. He took a single step forward, and then another, his suit stained with red. He paused then, and gasped as if the effort were too much for him, and then he finally crumpled at their feet. Everyone stood still for a moment, before Rider moved forward. His halberd embedded in the temple wall dematerialized, and he picked up his unconscious Master with surprising tenderness.

He turned to face them all, grinning proudly, "Behold the efforts of my Master. Caster of Red, slain! I assure you here, it was our efforts that have won this day!"

Saber sighed wearily as he too moved forward to scoop up the unconscious Angelica, "This victory was won by all, Rider. But no one doubts the bravery and cunning of your Master. She prevented Caster from escaping."

"Like Rider of Red did." Archer said, glaring pointedly at Saber.

Gawain gazed back, "We will find her. Merely be grateful we obtained victory without any losses tonight."

"So what's next?" Lancer asked quizzically, glancing at Julius, "That's two down, isn't it?"

Julius nodded, "Assassin assures me that there are no others here. But the Red Faction will not likely return here. We should return home, and ensure Miss Edefelt and Angelica receive treatment. It might also be wise to collect Caster. Then we should continue with our planned assault against Ruler."

Archer frowned, "Master, all in the same night?"

Julius nodded, "None of you Servants are critically injured. We'd only just discovered Ruler's location this afternoon. I was told by the assembled Masters that if we possessed sufficient strength following this attack, we should assault both targets. If Miss Edefelt were awake she would confirm my words. Waiting tonight is another Servant summoned by Ruler."

The assembled Servants murmured their consent, and Julius continued.

"Ruler must be killed…tonight."

* * *

><p>Several hours later, despite Julius's predictions, Shirou and the others returned to the Temple. They clambered up the steps tiredly, having missed the last bus from the city and having been forced to walk all the way back laden with groceries. Shirou groaned as the steps loomed above him, and not for the first time he wished for an elevator to the Temple. He made to move forward but froze when Saber suddenly place an arm in front of him protectively. He looked at her quizzically, but she glared at him.<p>

"Shirou. Battle has been made here tonight."

"What do you mean?" Rin interjected.

Saber paused, "I cannot see Assassin."

Shirou's bags fell to the floor, "But he would never abandon the gate. That means…"

He began to run forward despite Saber's cry of protest, and Rin and Illya followed him. They ran quickly up the steps, although Saber transformed and blasted past them to ensure it was safe. Shirou was gasping for breath by the time he reached the top, having outpaced both Rin and Illya, and he found his throat suddenly constrict even tighter when he passed the temple's gate. His fist clenched at his sides as he stared ahead, Saber also surveying the carnage before him. Rin and Illya soon arrived, and he heard Rin gasp and bring a hand to her mouth as she struggled not to retch. Illya just frowned distastefully, and he wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or worried that she was taking it so well.

The remains of the battle were laid out gruesomely before them. The courtyard was completely wrecked, with still smoking craters and gashes in the earth accompanied by small pieces of rubble. A corpse Shirou could only guess belonged to Shinji was laid facedown in a half-dried puddle of blood, a splintered wall behind him. Not far away, Kuzuki-sensei was sprawled facing the sky sightlessly, with a large gaping hole in his stomach that leaked his insides. Shirou immediately had flashes back to the Great Fuyuki Fire, and he blinked as he realized he'd been clenching his fist so tightly he'd drawn blood.

"Is there any sign…?" He asked cautiously, and Saber shook her head.

"They're gone," she replied sadly, "Assassin could never leave the gate, so he must have been defeated. We can only assume Caster and Rider as well, if their Masters are here."

Shirou nodded. He'd expected as much, but if there'd even been the smallest chance he would have wanted to know.

"We can not stay here." Saber continued, and Shirou nodded.

"I know. We're probably idiots for coming back here in the first place."

"We couldn't have known," Illya grumbled softly, seemingly unaffected by the carnage before them, "but we're idiots for still being here. Saber's right. We need to leave."

"But where do we go?" Rin gasped from behind them, feeling violently sick.

Illya paused, thinking, "I have a castle. I was saving it for the second phase of the war, but we could go there."

"Why not my place?" Shirou suggested, "I'm just a nobody after all. They might know about your mansion, Illya, or Tohsaka's place. They know about the Three Founding Families after all. But they have no idea who I am."

Saber nodded, "That would be ideal."

Shirou began to walk forward, "Alright you guys pack some bags quickly. Saber, help me with this. I want to at least give them a proper burial."

Saber nodded as Illya moved past her into the wrecked house. Rin simply stared at Shirou, physically holding herself together by wrapping her arms around herself.

"How are you so calm?" she whispered, "We practically just lost this war."

Shirou paused and turned back to her, "I've dealt with worse before. For now, just call Archer to you. And we haven't lost this war just yet."

Rin gave a bitter laugh, "And how can you say that? Its 7 on 4 now, assuming Lancer's not dead too."

"It's not over yet. I promise you. It's not over."

**A/N: So, one big battle down. The Blue Faction took a step up, killing off Caster and Assassin of Red. And Shinji died (confetti goes off in the background). Even though a Caster is always at their most dangerous in their home territory, even she couldn't survive a 5-on-1. And while I think Gawain would be able to defeat Assassin in the middle of the day, I had to have Leo use a Command Seal for the fight, as I don't think Gawain would have survived Assassin's Noble Phantasm otherwise without an Instinct skill like Saber's. And if anyone was wondering where Berserker and Caster of Blue were during all of this, the answer is back at base with the rest of the Blue Masters. So to top it off we have Rider returning to Sakura, the Red Faction relocating to Emiya's house, and a promised Ruler-Blue Faction fight next chapter. **

**To reply to some reviews about the Kirei/Gilgamesh thing, I feel like Kirei feels a certain sense of gratitude to Gil for awakening him to life, and values him as a strong Servant, but if Gil came between him and his pursuit of his goals he wouldn't hesitate to go against him. Kirei isn't really capable of anything besides his desire for others' suffering after all. And while Gil finds Kirei amusing and entertaining, I don't think he'd give him a second thought either if he got in his way. In Fate/stay night their goals align so I feel like we'll never really know what would happen if they disagreed, but that's my take on it. And yes Gil is totally pissed and would currently destroy anyone Kirei allowed him to attack, but I have a plan to counter that so he isn't too OP (Even though over-powered basically defines Gil's existence). And to reply to Hakuno's Assassin, while the first Hassan is strong, he's still very weak compared to the other Servants physically. He might be stronger than the other Hassan (probably except for Strange Fake) but he'd still have a lot of trouble dealing with a more combat-suited Assassin like Li Shuwen from the Blue Faction.**

**Anyway, please review as always, I love to see what you guys are thinking about the story, and until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

Shirou carefully poured the warm tea into several cups he'd arranged on the table. It was soothing for him. Cooking always had been. For a moment, it was easy for him to just pretend he was only just having friends over for the night. But that would require him to forget what had happened earlier. And he couldn't do that to Shinji and Kuzuki-sensei. Grimacing, he carried the tray filled with tea out to the table where Saber, Rin, and Illya waited. They were already discussing their next move, as expected, and Shirou was relieved to see Rin had calmed down a little. She'd seemed to get some of her composure back after Archer had talked to her. The Red Servant of the bow was on guard outside, having returned to Rin from patrol as soon as she informed him of the news. Lancer's whereabouts were still unknown.

"I'm telling you," Illya insisted as he began to place the cups of tea before them, "It's our best bet."

"No way," Rin shook her head, "It's way too risky. What's to stop them from taking us out, weakened as we are?"

"What's going on?" Shirou asked cautiously.

"Illyasviel has decided we should propose an alliance to Ruler and her Master until the Blue Faction is defeated." Saber explained.

"Huh," Shirou muttered as he sat down beside her, "That's not a bad idea."

"What?" Rin exploded while Illya looked smugly on, "Not you too! That's a terrible idea!"

"No it's not," Illya countered, "Shirou agrees with me."

Rin glared at Shirou, as if blaming him, "You can't be serious. Do you honestly believe that Ruler's Master would trust us?"

Shirou frowned, puzzled, "Why not?"

"Because Lancer tried to kill him before he even summoned Ruler! Because no self-respecting magus would believe what an enemy Master has to say! Because he could see this as the perfect opportunity to kick us out of the running while we're low on numbers!"

Illya sighed as she calmly sipped the tea Shirou had given her, "Rin. You're overthinking this. Assassin of Blue tried to kill him as well. And I doubt he's managed to summon all of his Servants by now, or else he would have been bolder on the battlefield. I think he'd see the sense in us joining forces to take out the strongest players in the War."

"And if he doesn't?" Rin countered, "What do we do if we walk into a trap? He was originally with Assassin of Blue before Lancer appeared, wasn't he? Who's to say he isn't already allied with the Blue Faction? They could have planned this whole thing together!"

"I don't think so," Shirou offered, "The attack at Ryuudou Temple was meant to wipe us completely out. It doesn't make sense that they'd let a few of us escape and try to ally with Ruler, only to be crushed there. They would have killed us all tonight if they had the chance."

Illya nodded serenely, "And it's not like we'll all be there. We only have to send one Servant to offer an alliance."

Rin narrowed her eyes, "You're telling me you want to send Archer. My Servant."

Illya smiled sweetly, "Of course. We can make better use of Saber's defensive capabilities here than Archer's, and my Berserker isn't much of a talker. And we still don't know if Lancer's alive or dead. And on the off chance it is a trap, your Archer would have the easiest time of escaping."

"It does make sense to me." Shirou said hesitantly, Saber nodding from beside him.

Rin's eyebrow twitched, and she suddenly downed her entire cup of tea before calmly resting it against her palm. She paused for a moment, eyes closed, before she looked up at them steely, "Fine. I'll send Archer. But how are we supposed to find Ruler and her Master?"

"Leave that to me." A bored voice said, and Shirou blinked as Archer appeared in a wave of mist leaning against the wall nonchalantly.

"Archer?" Rin asked before suddenly growing angry, "What are you doing? I told you to stay on the roof and look for the enemy!"

He sighed and waved a hand, "Your shrieking drove me to investigate," he narrowed his eyes then, looking between the three Red Masters, "You want me to deliver a message to Ruler?"

"Yes," Illya answered, "Please propose an alliance to her Master, to last until the Blue Faction has been defeated."

"That's all?" Archer asked, moving towards the door.

"Do you even have any idea where you're headed?" Rin called out after him grumpily.

He smirked as he looked back over his shoulder, "I'm sure I'll find my way."

Illya sat silently after he left, watching as Saber left to stand guard in Archer's absence. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a slight sense of unease around Rin's Servant, as if she was missing something important. Unbidden, a flash of his attacks with those swords rose to her mind, and she found herself contemplating his identity as a Heroic Spirit. Finding no answers, she stood up and excused herself to wander the house, leaving Shirou and Rin behind arguing over who would get to do dishes. He claimed right as host of the house, but Rin continued to say she had to repay him as his guest. Their voices soon faded as she paced the wooden halls. Her mind turned to the troubling War she had participated in. She was thoroughly confused. At least three Servants, Caster, Rider, and Assassin of Red, should have appeared within her, as the Lesser Grail of the Einzberns, but she felt nothing. A part of her was worried over this issue, but another was largely relieved she would not yet have to start giving up her human functions. She idly wondered how it must have been for her mother, each victory in the Fourth War drawing her fate closer and closer. Illya tried not to think how disappointed she would be in Kiritsugu if she knew her husband had betrayed the Einzberns and attempted to destroy the Grail after her sacrifice. She wondered then, if her mother had ever walked these halls. There was a chance-her father had claimed this house during the war, not after, as it was situated over a well-constructed leyline in the city. She stepped softly and slowly, taking in everything around her. So this was her father's home.

She ran a hand lightly along the wall and she looked out the window to the yard illuminated by the moon. This was where he had stayed, where he had lived out what was left of his years after he had abandoned her. Kiritsugu had chosen this place and Shirou over her, his own daughter. As always, the thought brought up a venomous sense of bile and anger in her stomach. She felt Berserker grumbling with discontent over his Master's feelings, and she attempted to calm herself. Her hands still tightening at her sides, she continued down the hall, stopping at a sliding door. Curious, she opened it and stepped inside lightly, leaving it slightly ajar. It revealed a simple room, surprisingly well-kept, but she didn't take much notice of her surroundings as her gaze was drawn to a single object. There, resting lightly atop a wooden shelf, was a framed picture of Kiritsugu.

She walked forward slowly, raising a hand hesitantly but finding herself unable to reach out and grab the photograph. It was the first time she had seen her father's face in over ten years. It struck her like a physical blow, and she felt herself begin to shake slightly. Steeling herself, she steadied her hand and reached out for it, her hand still shaking slightly as she grasped the wooden edges of the frame. She slowly brought it back to her, sinking to her knees as she studied it. He was much older than she remembered. It had been ten years of course, but it seemed to more so than just the passing of time. He seemed tired, his eyes holding a certain weight. His smile was sad too. She shakily traced his face as she examined the picture. Had he ever felt guilty over what he had done? Was that why he appeared so different here? But whatever regret he might have felt clearly had not been enough, as he had never returned to her. She squeezed her eyes tightly together, as if trying to deny the face of the man before her that now appeared in her mind. He had been a good father. She had loved him, and had been sure he had loved her. And then he betrayed her, and her mother, her grandfather, her entire family. He abandoned her for someone and someplace she never knew. He betrayed her. He cast her aside. She hated him. So why was she so moved by the sight of his face, of his sad smile? She had trained herself to hate him, to prepare for her revenge. When she learned of his death, she had been furious. She swore to herself that she would at least extract vengeance on the one he had chosen over her. So why was it that now that she was here, in Fuyuki, she was finding it harder and harder to muster her feelings of hatred?

She gasped and opened her eyes suddenly as she heard the door slide open all the way from behind her. She studied the picture, surprised to cover it drenched with water and tears as footsteps moved over to her. Had she really been crying?

Shirou's voice broke into her jumbled thoughts as he approached her, "Illya? What are you doing in here? I have another-hey, wait. Are you okay? You're crying. What's wrong?"

He bent down concernedly beside her as soon as he recognized her tears, puzzled over why she was staring down at his picture of Kiritsugu so intently. Illya, for her part, simply held onto the frame in shock. She had been crying over Kiritsugu. They hadn't been tears of rage. Why? This was all wrong. She was supposed to hate him. A part of her still did. But he couldn't stop the reaction she had when she saw his sad smile. She turned shakily to Shirou, and struggled to hold back another wave of tears when she saw his concerned face. Why did he have to be so kind? Why should the man who had stolen her father away care so much for her well-being? How was she supposed to hate him, to take her revenge on him, when he was always like this?

"It's not fair," Illya sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she continued, "Why are you so nice? How am I going to hate you?"

Shirou frowned, "Hate me? If this is about the second part of the War then-"

"No," Illya cut him off, "I'm talking about Papa! You stole him from me! He took everything from me, let Mama die, and abandoned me for you! I hate him! I want to hurt him! Why can't I hate you?"

"Papa…?" Shirou muttered confusedly before is eyes suddenly widening as they fell on the tear-soaked picture of Kiritsugu, "You…Kiritsugu is your father?"

Illya nodded while sobbing, and Shirou could only stare in shock. He had a sister. Kiritsugu had a daughter. Illya was his sister. Illya was Kiritsugu's daughter. She hated him. Those thoughts ran over and over in his mind, breaking apart any train of thought he tried to form. He had no idea what to do or say.

"How?" he finally managed to croak out weakly.

"He betrayed Mama and tried to destroy the Grail!" Illya cried, "He promised me he'd come back, but he never did! He left me for you! I should hate you for that!"

Shirou's mind went blank for the second time. Kiritsugu had been a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail Warf, or had at least helped the Einzbern one. Had he had any involvement in the fire that orphaned Shirou? He'd never questioned why Kiritsugu had been there the day of the fire. Was it really possible? Agonizing over these thoughts, he returned his attention to Illya.

She leaned forward to grab his shirt desperately, her tears soaking through, as she continued, "Why? Why do you have to make it so hard for me to want to kill you? Why do you care so much for me? You stole my father! Why can't I hate you?"

Shirou paused, before resolving himself and pulling her into a deep hug. She gasped lightly as she felt his arms come around her, and began to tremble as he spoke.

"Illya," he promised, "I never knew. It sounds like the Kiritsugu you knew and the one I did were two very different people. I'm sorry he hurt you so badly. I don't know how, or why. But I swear to you, I'll make it up for it. I'll protect you like he should have, and I'll never abandon you. I'll be your new family, and Saber too. You will always be able to depend on me. I promise."

Illya looked up at him with wide, watery eyes, "Why? Why are you doing this for me?"

Shirou smiled down at her and lightly patted her head, "Because I'm your big brother now. And that means I have to protect you."

Illya felt her tears begin anew and buried her head in his chest. Shirou simply held her, his mind racing. He couldn't stop questioning his late father. What had he done to Illya exactly? Why had he hid her from Shirou, and his involvement in the Fourth War? He suddenly realized that he never really knew Kiritsugu. He'd spent only a few years with the man. There were secrets he had kept, and Shirou swore to himself that he would uncover them, for Illya's sake.

* * *

><p>Hakuno looked out several green rolling hills, the gently sloping ground soon giving way to distant fields. The sun was slowly dipping beneath the horizon, the giant of orb of fire glistening in the damp air. Its heat warmed him, and the sight of his homeland warmed his heart. Truly this Earth was an incredible gift from God. Which is why he had to protect it. Somehow, God had to send him a miracle that would allow them to defeat the army that moved against them even now. He only had to have faith. He couldn't run from this fate, no matter how much he wanted to. He wanted to raise a hand to clutch it against his chest, but that would be a sign of weakness. He could not afford any such sign. The men had to see the messenger from God, not the scared young girl. He turned resolutely to look behind him to see the army God had sent to him, all of them looking to him with wonder. He reassured them with a smile, but wanted to frown when he caught an image of himself in one soldier's glimmering reflective shield. Where he stood was instead a beautiful girl with amethyst eyes and an angelic smile, clad in armor with a sword resting at her hip. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized where he was, and then the dream suddenly collapsed into darkness. Hakuno woke with a start, immediately noting Assassin's firm hand over his mouth. He watched as Assassin slowly raised a finger to his lips, motioning him to follow him. Struggling to dispel his dream of Ruler's past, he focused on his Servant.<p>

"Quickly, Master, get dressed. Caster thinks she has encountered the enemy."

Hakuno felt his heart race as he hurriedly changed into his clothes and pulled on a pair of shoes, "Who? The Red or Blue Faction?"

"We do not know," Assassin whispered as he led him out of the room, "We can only detect the energy signature of multiple Servants approaching, although they're attempting to conceal themselves."

Hakuno followed Assassin to the lobby of the suite, where the rest of his Servants waited, all dressed in their battle gear. He felt a lurch in his stomach as saw Ruler, and attempted to focus. Upon hearing them enter, Kuro immediately turned to them with narrowed eyes.

"We can't get Onii-chan out through the front anymore. They're taking the elevator up."

"Right now?" Hakuno asked, and gulped as Saber nodded. He suddenly realized that while they had chosen a well-protected location for their base, they had no secondary escape route beside the elevator. There wasn't even a flight of stairs connecting them to the rest of the hotel.

"But how did they find us?" he asked, desperately trying to recall what he might have done wrong while he struggled to remember what little attack-magic he had been taught.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Caster asked, "They're here now."

Ruler looked over concernedly at the elevator's dial as she gripped her sword tightly, "We have to get Hakuno out of here immediately."

"You as well, Lady Ruler," Assassin reminded her, "We cannot have you fall either."

Ruler turned on him with a flash in her eyes, "I will not abandon any fight."

"Enough," Saber declared, pointing her crimson blade at the end of the hallway, "We are out of time. We must defend our Praetor."

Caster nodded and laid down several magic circles along the floor of the entrance, and the rest of Hakuno's Servants took up position around him. He watched anxiously as the dial slowly reached their floor. Then it paused, and there was a soft ding as the elevator doors opened with a hiss. A silver blur immediately erupted from the interior, as Saber of Blue dashed forward with his blade extended for Hakuno. Blasts of magical energy erupted from Caster's magic circles inscribed on the floor, but the Saber Class's Magic Resistance skill took effect as he continued unharmed down the hallway. Then there was a sudden ring of steel as Hakuno's Saber checked his blade with her own sword. She grinned at him as she heaved him back, and his face suddenly grew red as he recognized her.

"My King?" He sputtered in shock, his face growing even redder as he examined her dress, "What by Merlin's beard are you…?"

Saber cut him off as she dashed forward with her massive blade, smiling wildly, "It is only right that you recognize your Emperor. But I wish not to trade words with you here, but paint a tapestry with the clashing of our swords!"

Hakuno lost track of them as Caster forced him back, the rest of his Servants rushing forward to meet the Heroic Spirits of the Blue Faction that spilled forth from the elevator after Saber of Blue. Ruler immediately darted forward to attack Lancer of Blue, her sword flashing rapidly as she forced the Blue Servant back. Rider and Caster of Blue headed immediately for Hakuno, Julius close behind them with his mystic code array about him, and Caster and Kuro immediately placed themselves between them and Hakuno, attempting to keep them at bay with arrows and curses.

Assassin for his part jumped past Rider of Blue by running along the wall, hurling several dirks at Assassin of Blue as he did so. The Blue Servant smirked as he swatted them away with fists blazing with green fire, and Hakuno's Assassin landed lightly before him as he crouched and brought out two curved daggers from the folds of his black cloak. Assassin of Blue chuckled, taking in the black robes and white skull mask before him.

"So you're a Hassan?" the Blue Servant grinned, "Would you like me to show what the Assassin class is truly made of?"

Hakuno's Assassin simply readied himself and held out his daggers, "I shall deliver death swiftly to you for that insult, my friend."

Assassin of Blue narrowed his eyes at his enemy's stance and launched himself forward suddenly with his fist extended. But Hakuno's Assassin moved swiftly to the side, avoiding the blow, and deflected the next with one of his blades. Assassin of Blue grunted as his fist returned covered in both blood and green fire. He swung a wide furious kick, but Hakuno's Assassin swiftly ducked underneath the swirling blow, and Assassin of Blue's eyes narrowed. This enemy was even faster than Lancer of Red, by far the most agile Servant he had seen so far in this War. He narrowed his eyes and darted forward once again, his hands outreached as he lunged for Assassin's throat. Hakuno's Servant jumped back, hurling more of his dirks as he moved out of reach. Assassin of Blue blocked them with his forearm, the blades embedded in his skin, before he swiftly pulled them out and hurled them alight with green fire back at the Hassan. Hakuno's Assassin twisted fluidly like a snake, plucking several out of the air and slipping them back into the folds of his robes. When his hands reemerged from the black cloak they held his twin daggers, curved, white bony blades with skulls resting on the pommels. Assassin darted forward, jabbing with the blades, and Assassin of Blue's wrists began to drip blood as he was continually forced to deflect the assault with his bare hands. The Blue Servant jumped back after several moments of prolonged combat, and Hakuno's Assassin was surprised when the enemy suddenly disappeared from his view. Narrowing his eyes behind his mask, he examined the seemingly empty hallway closely, looking for any sign of his invisible foe.

Behind them in the main room, the two Sabers dueled together furiously. Saber of Blue jumped back as Hakuno's Saber swung her massive sword with a fearless smile, the blow just missing the Blue Servant as it shattered the ground. Saber continued her attack, the sword cleaving the couch as Gawain swiftly avoided her blows. Saber tried to keep him at a distance with the length of her sword, but that in turn allowed him enough time to accurately predict where her attacks would land. Excalibur Galatine rang out as it clashed with her crimson blade, the two Servants locking swords. Though he was surprised at the strength in her short stature, Gawain managed to force Saber back with a grimace. She quickly regained her footing, but he was already upon her. Gawain was certain he had landed a killing blow as his blade descended on her unprotected body, so he was shocked when Saber suddenly vanished and appeared beside him, swinging her sword in her own attack.

Only Gawain's many years of experience saved him, as he instinctively shifted the descending blade in his hands to deflect the blow, his hands jarring from the speed of the impact. He flipped away from another blow, ducking as Saber vanished and reappeared once more, raising his blade to block her next blow. The force sent him skidding back, his feet grinding deep troughs into the carpeted floor, before he came to rest in a battle stance several feet away. He narrowed his eyes as Saber grinned and readied her crimson blade.

"How is that you are able to move like this?" He asked her, and she puffed out her chest proudly as she responded.

"It is only my Imperial Privilege as Emperor. Besides, any true artist is able to imitate another's style, and suit it to their own needs."

Gawain lowered his stance, "Enough boasting. If you have no answer for me but empty words and your sword, I ask that you hasten your reply."

Saber grinned wildly, "As you wish."

There was a momentary pause, and then the Gold Servant suddenly materialized before Gawain. He twisted to the side, avoiding her overhead blow, and swung his sword in a horizontal arc around him. He halted the attack mid-swing and flicked his blade back against his ribs, blocking the blow the blow that came from the side as Saber moved once again. He rolled as soon as their swords connected, and then immediately jumped forward as soon as he gained stable footing avoiding another blow that suddenly appeared to crush the floor behind him. Saber disappeared and materialized over and over again to continually assault him, never giving him a chance to stay still and hold his ground. It was true she was successfully managing to drive him away from her Master, but Gawain noted she wasn't quite skilled enough with her teleportation to land a killing blow on him. It seems that while she had managed to copy this strange ability from someone, she hadn't been able to perfectly replicate their skill in using it.

He ducked beneath a blow that whistled over his head, his blond hair swaying into his eyes as he twisted in a crouching position to block the crimson sword that swung down as Saber appeared above him. He shoved her back and kept running forward even after she disappeared. He soon reached the wall of the room and swung his sword back over his shoulder as Saber attacked him from behind, all the while continuing to run up the wall. Their blades connected, and he flipped off the wall, swinging his sword out in mid-air. As expected, she disappeared before his blow could reach her and he continued his swing 180 degrees to the space behind him. She appeared there just as he predicted, though he was impressed by the reflexes she possessed that allowed her to raise her sword in time to defend herself. But just as he planned, she reverted back to her natural sword skills in such a reflex situation, and she remained stationary just long enough for him to land a blow without her teleporting away. Their blades connected, but the force of his blow sent her off her feet flying backwards, crashing through the wall to the room behind. The floor shook as she skidded across the floor in a shallow trough, smashing through a kitchen island before coming to rest against a crumpled stove. A fire alarm suddenly blared as a light fire started from the destruction and the sprinklers began to shower water onto the shattered white tiles as Gawain stepped over the shattered remains of the wall into the kitchen.

Saber's emerald eyes glittered at him past her wet, damp blond hair, and she cracked a smile from her seated position against the stove as she began to rise. Gawain waited until she reached her feet, and then darted forward. Saber's grin widened and she raised her sword to lock their blades instead of teleporting away. Gawain narrowed his eyes, and suddenly felt a lurching sensation in his stomach as Saber's smile grew malicious.

"My turn." She growled with narrowed eyes.

She suddenly twisted her blade, sending him stumbling back, and then hurled the full length of her crimson sword in an uppercut towards her torso. He hastily positioned his blade to meet her blow, but the force carried him off his feet. He grunted as he smashed through the ceiling, landing painfully on the roof above. Saber smiled at her handiwork as the bits of stone and plaster crumbled from the ceiling above, before jumping up to the roof as well through the newly-made hole. She walked slowly towards Gawain as he leaned heavily on his sword to struggle to his feet. He positioned himself quickly into a battle stance with some effort as Saber approached, readying himself. The wind blew strongly, whipping about both their hair and the folds of Saber's dress. She lowered herself, running a hand along the length of her blade as she placed it beside her, before both Servants launched forward in yet another furious clash of blades.

On the floor beneath them, Ruler rolled to the side as Lancer's spear swung over her head. She quickly straightened herself and lashed out with her own sword, forcing the Blue Servant to twist away and put space between them. Ruler darted forward, dashing through a low table in a shattering of glass as she brought her sword down against the Blue Servant furiously. Lancer's tail lashed angrily she brought up her lance with both hands swiftly, Ruler's blow landing uselessly on the steel hilt. She shoved Ruler back, making her lurch back off-balance, before she swiftly spun around with her spear lurching out for Ruler's throat. Ruler continued with her momentum, turning her fall into a backflip that skillfully avoided Lancer's blow, and dashed forward again as soon as her feet hit the ground. Lancer twisted to the side, and Ruler skidded as she stopped herself and unleashed a flurry of blows on the Blue Servant's prone form. Lancer swiftly responded, twirling her spear around her as she both swayed and dodged to avoid Ruler's attacks, or deflect them. Lancer purred as she withstood Ruler's onslaught, not letting up her defense for a moment as she spoke.

"You're a pretty one aren't you? I'm sure that boy over there was thrilled to have summoned you. I certainly would have taken you for myself, back in my day. Your beauty would have nurtured me for years."

Ruler narrowed her eyes angrily and tightened her mouth as she probed Lancer's defenses, looking for an opening with every single jab and strike, "You disgust me, Elizabeth Bathory. You have committed grave sin."

Lancer's eyes widened, and began to take on a dangerous look, "What's that? How do you know who I am? Who the hell are you to judge me?"

Ruler twisted and delivered a shattering blow that sent Lancer skidding back. She began to walk forward slowly, her sword resting ready at her side, "All of your sins are open to the Ruler class. And more importantly, they are open to Our Father in Heaven. It is not I who judges you, but him."

Lancer shrieked as she dashed forward, her lance levelled at Ruler's heart, "So what? You can't understand what it's like to grow old and die! You probably got to die young, and keep that beauty forever! Don't treat me like some pitiful hag!"

Ruler's normally kind eyes flashed dangerously as she swung herself to the side, bringing down her sword, "You dare to try to justify your actions! Look at yourself! Your very sins have materialized as the demonic essence you now carry!"

Lancer grinned maliciously as she deflected Ruler's blow with the pommel of her lance, bringing about the tip of the spear in a sweeping attack, "You mean the horns and tail? I hear the people here are into cosplay. I'm still as beautiful as ever."

Ruler shook her head as she deflected the blow, jumping back with her sword at the ready, "It is not the beauty outside, but that within your heart that the Lord values. You have forsaken that beauty."

Lancer growled angrily as she turned to face the Gold Servant, "Then damn me to hell. It doesn't matter. Once I have the Grail, I'll be beautiful and immortal forever."

Ruler's eyes narrowed, "Then I will fulfill your request."

She darted forward, blade sweeping up from the side. Lancer matched her, dashing to swing down her spear. The clash rang throughout the room as both Servants swiftly recovered and attacked once again, each pressing forward in a wild assault. Lancer hurled her spear forward, and Ruler quickly rolled to the side. She got back up to her feet to see Lancer recover her weapon and come at her once again with a vicious overhead strike. She deflected the blow to the side, both of their weapons angled towards the ground, and then swiftly clipped Lancer in the chin with her armored elbow. The swift blow stunned the Blue Servant for a single moment, and Ruler quickly spun with her sword, keeping it close against her chest. Lancer recovered and attempted another attack, but Ruler quickly blocked it as she completed her spin. Her sword however, was locked against the Blue Servant's spear on Lancer's side of the defense, and the blade swiftly traveled down along the weapon's shaft to dismember both of Lancer's hands. The severed appendages fell to the floor in a sudden spout of blood, and Lancer's eyes widened with horror as she stumbled back, her lance clattering to the floor amid the red spray. Before the Blue Servant could react, Ruler was there, plunging her thin sword deep into her heart.

Lancer gasped as she sagged to the floor, quivering as she swiftly began to feel her consciousness fade. She distantly felt a Command Seal activate, pressing against her, ordering her to survive. Then another, telling her to get up and fight, to kill Ruler. It made her want to laugh. Her Master was such a fool. Even these inviolable commands, accompanied with her Battle Continuation Class Skill, wouldn't be enough to save her from her fate. Even as her heart struggled to knit itself back together, as her broken body attempted to lift itself from the blood-slicked floor, Ruler had already recognized what was happening. And in the several moments it took for Lancer to respond to her injuries and new commands, Ruler had already swung her sword one final time, the blade cleanly passing through Lancer's neck and sending her corpse flopping back against the ground as the soul of the third Heroic Spirit of the Fifth Holy Grail War found its way to the Grail's blackened container, where it dwelled in its dark crypts. Ruler stared steadily down at the vanishing corpse of Lancer of Blue, before she suddenly straightened with alarm, and launched herself forward, to her Master's side.

* * *

><p>Hakuno backed away from the battle before him, moving towards the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that overlooked the city below, sheltered by the two Servants standing in front of him. Though they had been pushed back to the lounge, the rest of the floor destroyed by the furious battle, his two Servants had planted their feet and refused to budge as they continued their final defense. Caster stood directly before him, an array of magic circles and barriers hovering around her she continuously shielded Hakuno from harm. Her normally bright eyes were now narrowed in concentration as she sent her mirrors hurtling along the walls towards the enemy, the sheer speed and force of her mystic codes ripping plaster off from the walls and shattering glass whenever they passed by. Kuro engaged the enemy offensively, projecting a number of swords that were blasted towards the enemy, accompanied by the occasional arrow she fired off from her projected bow. Opposing them, Rider of Blue continued to swing his massive halberd, swatting swords out of the sky and deflecting the magical blasts Caster contributed. But Kuro's attacks continually kept him off-balance, not allowing him to advance. Both sides knew that the Blue Faction only had to kill Hakuno to defeat Ruler, so Rider continued to attempt to reach him, while Kuro furiously repelled him. He was accompanied by Julius, his cruel eyes glittering and an unusual smirk marring his normally emotionless face as he fired off his own array of swords through his mystic code. Kuro continuously shot them out of the sky, and they would clatter to the floor before he drew them back to himself telekinetically, only to fire them off again. He kept two blades by him always, to combine them into a spinning shield that protected him from harm. Caster of Blue, the small boy standing a short distance behind Rider and the Blue Master, handled the rest of the defense. He answered Hakuno's Caster's magical blasts with his own, his hands outstretched as he constructed numerous purple shields to neutralize Kuro's swords and deflect Caster's rotating mirrors she hurled at the enemy.<p>

Hakuno's Caster growled as one of her mirrors was once again knocked off-course by the purple barriers, before hastily constructing a shield of her own to deflect one of Julius's swords. Hakuno could sense Kuro's frustration as well, as she couldn't let up her barrage of swords to utilize her blades to attack Rider, without leaving an opening for either Julius or Caster of Blue to attack Hakuno. It was a stalemate that would be decided by the arrival of the next Servant, the first winner of one of the various duels that were taking place in the penthouse. Hakuno grimaced as his eyes met Julius's, cursing his own helplessness despite his limited training as he saw his old uncle's smirk.

"Well now," the Blue Master called out to him, "Imagine my surprise, Hakuno, when Assassin informed me that you had obtained Ruler's Command Seals! And my even greater shock when you, my faithful nephew whom I saved, resisted my influence and faction?"

"Your Assassin Servant tried to kill me!" Hakuno shouted back as his fist tightened at his side, "All you've ever done is use me as a walking power factory to fuel your own needs and desires! I would have been better off staying on the streets! What'd you expect?"

Julius fired off several more swords that Caster deflected as he spread out his arms, "Certainly not that you would abandon the Harway family, after I had assigned Assassin your protection. Do you truly hate us so much that you would deny humanity its salvation?"

"The Harways' salvation is a sick joke!" Haknuo countered.

Julius narrowed his eyes, "You insult Leo, insult his noble dream? Humanity is weak! It needs absolute authority, to mold it into a form that will allow it to survive the coming years!"

"Your uncle's a dick," Kuro muttered, but Hakuno ignored her.

He growled, his fists shaking now at his sides, "I've never believed that, and I never will!"

Julius smirked, "I thought you'd say as much. I suppose this is goodbye then. To think I wasted so many years developing all of your potential, only for you to waste it like this."

As he spoke he drew back all of his swords, fanning them out behind him. They began to pulse a sickly red glow, and he arranged them into a barrel pointed forward. Then he cruelly lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, sending the blades flying forward. All eight of his swords came hurtling at Hakuno in a different path. Caster hurriedly materialized as many barriers as she could, while Kuro swiftly shot two out of the sky. Caster drew back one of her mirrors swiftly to deflect the final blade, and Hakuno sighed with relief as it landed just before him, the blade sinking into the floor only a foot from his feet. His relief was short-lived however, as the sword glowed violently before exploding in a blast of red energy that sent Caster lurching forward and Hakuno himself flying back out the glass well behind him. He seemed to hang suspended for a moment in the air above the city, his eyes widening as he took in the shattered glass around him and horrified faces of his two Servants. For that single moment his panicked eyes locked with Julius's smirking face, and then he began to plummet. He screamed as he fell, his hands reaching out desperately towards the building that rapidly distanced itself from him. An unshakable panic took hold of him as he realized he would die in a few seconds, and his stricken face was reflected everywhere in the shards of glass that fell with him. He was ashamed by the sight of his own cowardice, a Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War, and resolved to at least keep his eyes open.

He was shocked then to see Kuro suddenly appear before him, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly as she twisted in midair so that she was below him. His scream was suddenly cut short as she clutched his head and neck protectively, and the space around him began to warp. In that single instant his stomach lurched, and it almost seemed as if the Earth had been knocked off its axis as everything around him was destabilized. He was suddenly strung apart and then stitched back together as everything immediately righted itself, and he lifted his eyes to see himself lying safely atop Kuro, her back against the solid ground. He was then suddenly flipped over as Kuro reversed their positions, placing herself above him. The glass Kuro had teleported them ahead of when they materialized safely on the ground suddenly shattered down like rain, bouncing harmlessly off Kuro's iron skin as it showered around Hakuno.

When the downpour stopped she sighed and sat back atop Hakuno, raising a hand to flick a piece of glass out of her hair, "Jeez, Onii-chan, next time you decide to go jumping out of buildings use a Command Seal to have someone else save you. I almost didn't reach you in time."

Hakuno paused from hyperventilating as he realized he was still alive to curse himself. He'd been too blinded by fear to even think of using a Command Seal, his most valuable tool. He swore to himself he wouldn't forget next time as he sat up, "I think that's a good idea, Kuro. Remind me next time. And thank you. I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

She nodded as she extended a hand to help him to his feet, "Sure thing. And that's kinda my job."

Hakuno paused to look up at the building, "We have to get back up there to help the others."

Kuro shook her head, "I'm sure they're fine. And Caster can hold her own in her own territory if she doesn't have to worry about protecting you too. We need to get you out of here, and the rest can escape on their own."

"But what about the hotel?" Hakuno asked.

"We can't use it as a base anymore after this." Kuro answered.

Hakuno thought for a moment before nodding and facing her once again, "Alright. I'll follow your lead."

* * *

><p>Archer of Blue narrowed his eyes as he watched Saber of Blue engage the enemy atop the building's roof. He could only just barely see them atop his position on the Fuyuki Bridge. If their battle took them away from the roof's edge towards the center, he wouldn't be able to see them due to the angle. He had been ordered by his Master to both support the other Blue Servants if he could, and eliminate any of Ruler's Servants that tried to escape. His fingers brushed the fringes of his poisoned arrow, his Noble Phantasm that would ensure certain death for anyone, even a Heroic Spirit. He'd already used it successfully on Berserker of Red, although that monster apparently had more lives to spare. While some might call his arrows cowardly, his poison had never failed him before. But he didn't want to give away his position just yet, to fire it off at Ruler's Saber. It was a tricky shot anyway, with the two Servants brawling so close together. So he waited, to deliver death to the enemy.<p>

His patience was rewarded when the glass on the top floor of the building suddenly burst, his keen eyes making out the falling form of Ruler's Master. He considered shooting him out of the sky, but decided it would be more fun to see him explode like an egg against the street. He scowled suddenly when the boy's Archer appeared, somehow capable of teleporting, perhaps by the use of a Command Seal. His eyes widened when the pair disappeared as the girl teleported them again, Archer of Blue realizing that it was the girl's own personal skill that allowed her to do so. He grimaced as he drew back his bow, placing the arrow against his cheek as he narrowed his eyes. He would have one chance to land a single shot before the girl realized he was here and then teleported her Master away. He slowed his breathing and concentrated as he waited for them to stand, anticipating the perfect shot. He was the grim reaper, delivering judgment from afar, and his only gifts were death.

* * *

><p>Kuro sighed as she dusted several shards of glass from her arms, "Alright then, the first step is to get out of here."<p>

She turned to lead her Master away from the building when her heightened hearing caught her name being shouted down from above. She swiftly turned her keen eyes upwards to see Ruler gesturing wildly from another window in the building towards the Fuyuki Bridge. She quickly turned, and felt a bolt of panic as she made out Archer of Blue's figure atop the Bridge in the distance, smirking as he drew back his bow and released. She knew immediately he was aiming for Hakuno, and as the sickly bolt flew forward she hurried to project her blades and place herself in front of him, although she knew she wouldn't make it in time. It amazed her then, when a brilliant arrow of light streaked across the sky to deflect Archer of Blue's attack. The Blue Servant adopted a look of shock as his arrow was shot out of the sky, and the expression was frozen on his face as another arrow suddenly sank into his forehead, erupting out the back of his skull. Several more flights appeared in his stomach for good measure, the red bolts burning his insides. Archer of Blue sagged, and then tumbled down the Fuyuki Bridge, hitting the cold water below with a splash. His body had already disintegrated into nothingness before it even reached the riverbed.

Hakuno didn't even know what had happened, and watched in puzzlement as Kuro looked around in shock with her blades drawn. Above them, Julius grunted as felt Archer of Blue's passing. He looked worriedly around him, only to adopt a look of panic as Ruler burst through the wall to engage Rider, meaning that Lancer had fallen as well. With Hakuno having escaped, and two Blue Servants dead, his next course of action was clear.

"We must retreat," he announced to all the Blue Servants. Having no other way to safely escape, and as the only Master there among enemy Servants, he resigned himself to using a Command Seal. As he raised his right hand he bitterly noticed that Archer's Command Seals had already disappeared. A blue sigil of the pattern on his hand blazed and disappeared as he spoke his next words.

"_**Assassin. Bring me to my brother at once**_."

In the hallway near the elevator, Assassin lurched as his battle with Hakuno's Assassin was suddenly halted. Deactivating his invisibility, he rushed past the enemy Servant and immediately burst into the room to grab hold of his Master. Julius cursed once again as the Blue Servants took to spirit form to retreat, and his Command Seal took hold as Assassin teleported them back to the Harway Mansion.

"_Damn this_."

Below, Hakuno looked on in shock as a Servant dressed in a red cloak and black body armor materialized atop a nearby building, looking down at them with a disinterested expression. Kuro narrowed her eyes, stepping in front of Hakuno as she leveled her twin blades. Hakuno couldn't help but notice the similarities between the two, and wondered if they knew one another. It certainly seemed so.

"So it was you," Kuro spoke, and the man nodded with a smirk, as if telling off a child.

She stepped forward, the confusion in her eyes evident, "Why? I thought you made yourself clear last time we spoke."

Hakuno frowned and stepped forward as well. Kuro and this man had spoken before? Without him knowing? Or was it some conversation from their shared past lives she was referring to?

"Who are you?" he asked, focused on the steely eyes that stared him down with mild interest.

The man dropped to the street below, dispelling his bow, and fixed Hakuno with his gaze, "The guy who just saved your life. And my Master wants to speak with you, so now you're going to do something for me."

Hakuno narrowed his eyes, guessing him now to be Archer of Red, "Like what?"

The Red Servant smirked, "Come with me and find out."

**A/N: I just have to say, I can't help but laugh picturing all of the Blue Servants just waiting in the elevator to attack Hakuno as it rises for fifty stories. I might have to write a short bonus chapter for that some time. Anyways, I'm sorry this one took so long to get out. I've been swamped with homework and sports ever since second semester started, but that's not much of an excuse. Although since fanfiction was down that set me back a couple hours from when I wanted to post this. So, in this chapter we got some serious questions about Kiritsugu raised for Shirou, and Hakuno finally gets drawn into the larger mechanics of the War. Next chapter will be a bit of set-up/aftermath, and then after that I can promise a part in the next chapter that I've been excited to share since I started this story. The Blue Faction lost two Servants to balance the Red Faction here, and Hakuno still hasn't summoned al of his just yet. While some people might think it's a little fast to kill off four Servants in two chapters, I promise I have a larger reason behind the fast kill count here at the start. Anyways, please review, because God knows I need the motivation so that hopefully this next chapter won't take a month. Also, please tell me what you guys think of the fight scenes, because I want to be sure that they don't get too repetitive. Thanks for reading.**

**P.S. Fate/Kaleid Liner finally updated after three months and Gilgamesh is back, so that's awesome.**

**COVER ART REQUEST: Wondering if anyone would be willing to draw a cover image for this story, I'd be willing to send you an early chapter or something as thanks if you did. I have a particular image in mind, but it contains spoilers, so PM me if you're interested.**


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